Uber’s ‘women-only’ driver option sparks major debate as people spot pricing detail

Uber’s women-only driver option has left people online debating one point they’ve noticed.

Efficient, easy to order and cheaper than local taxi companies, Uber has been winning for miles with its app.

But its latest choice to offer women-only drivers to those who choose the option has sparked a major debate online.

According to Uber’s website, the Women Rider Preference is there for ‘Lessor Partners who identify as women or non-binary to set a preference for picking up women Users’.

For people who want to be picked up by women drivers, they can set their preference by opening the Uber app, open up the 3 horizontal lines in the bottom right of the screen which will open the Trip Planner, tap the preference icon to open your Driving Preferences and select the ‘Women Rider toggle to enable or disable the preference'.

However, Uber noted it ‘cannot guarantee that all Users you are matched with while using this feature will be women, or appear in a way that you would identify as a woman'.

Uber's new feature has sparked a debate online (Getty stock images/Uber)

“If you are matched with someone you believe is a male User while using this feature, you may cancel the lease and select ‘I selected trips with women riders’ as your cancellation reason,” it says.

It adds: “Please be mindful that the Uber community is remarkably diverse, including people of all gender identities and expressions. Some women Users may not express their gender or appear in a way that matches your perception of ‘femininity'.”

To access the Women Rider Preference, you need to sign a form to ‘certify that your recent gender update in-app is an accurate representation of your identity’.

Those who have discovered the new preference have now taken to social media to point out something they believe is important.

The price.

Uber’s price is dependent on the size of the car, the length of the trip and other variables.

However, users noted that the women-only driver preference looked to be the cheapest option of them all according to a screenshot from the app.

One person wrote: “Notice it’s the cheapest option.”

However, Uber clarified that they are not ‘pricing these trips to be higher or lower than other similar ones'.

Others went on to talk about the saddening ‘reality’ that women face when it comes to their safety with male drivers.

The New York Times reported that from 2017 to 2022, 400,181 Uber trips resulted in reports of sexual assault and sexual misconduct in the US alone, sparking fears over women’s safety when alone with male drivers.

People have noticed its pay difference (Instagram/@todayyearsold)

Social media users were quick to link this to the reason for the women-only driver option, sharing how this could further protect women from being assaulted or harassed during their journeys.

One person wrote: “The necessity for this is saddening.”

Another said: “I love that I have so many friends who have had to call me feeling mad uncomfortable w their driver.”

Someone else wrote: “Genuinely no offense, just reading that felt safe.”

Others went on to say that the post made them do a double take, as they weren’t sure whether Uber was highlighting ‘safety’ of women or the ‘gender pay gap’ because a cheaper ride equals less pay for the female driver.

Speaking to Tyla, Uber said in a statement that the company isn’t pricing the rides differently and is ‘confident in how we’ve designed these features because we’re not changing the user experience for anyone else.’.

It stated: “These are optional features for women, grounded in feedback from riders and drivers, and built to offer more choice and control – without changing the experience for others. And we’ll keep refining it as we listen and learn.”

For those who provide ‘false or misleading account information—including gender’, the company states it is a ‘violation of the General Terms of Use and Community Guidelines and may result in account action’.

As for the price difference, it states ‘these trips are priced the same as other equivalent trips on the platform’ and there are ‘variables that can affect pricing’, but they are not ‘pricing these trips to be higher or lower than other similar ones'.