Lyft expands program that matches women and nonbinary riders to drivers

Lyft is increasing its Ladies+ Join program to a bunch of latest cities. This initiative initially launched in a restricted variety of places again in September, however now it is getting a a lot bigger rollout.

Ladies+ Join does precisely what the identify implies. It connects ladies and nonbinary riders to equally figuring out drivers, and vice versa. That is an opt-in function that goals to bolster security throughout rides, along with attractive ladies and nonbinary individuals to turn out to be drivers for the platform. Lyft says that almost half of riders are ladies, however they solely make up 23 p.c of drivers.

Right here’s the way it works: You activate the function and it’ll join you to an acceptable driver based mostly on the gender you entered when signing up. For drivers, it makes use of the gender related to the license on file. If there’s no ladies or nonbinary drivers in search of fares, you’ll nonetheless get matched with a male driver, so that you received’t be standing round outdoors within the chilly.

This system began in just some cities, together with Chicago, Phoenix and San Francisco. It’s apparently been an enormous success for Lyft, with the corporate noting that 2.4 million riders have turned on Ladies+ Join for the reason that September launch and greater than half of eligible drivers have begun utilizing the service. It additionally says that this function has the best satisfaction price of any driver instrument the corporate has ever launched.

Ladies+ Join releases immediately in New York Metropolis, Los Angeles, Miami, Las Vegas, Dallas, Washington D.C. and different locations. Test the app to see if the function is on the market the place you reside.

That is the newest instrument employed by ridesharing platforms to extend security and cut back situations of sexual assault and different violent encounters. Uber not too long ago made it simpler for riders and drivers to contact 911 and reside security brokers. The platform has additionally begun permitting each riders and drivers to document audio throughout journeys.