Uber's Gender-Based Driver Request: Safety or Discrimination?

0:00This is Global News Today, powered by AI and presented by the Daily News Now. Uber has lost a nationwide feature, letting women and teen riders request female drivers through their app. It's designed to boost comfort and safety, with options to match immediately, book ahead, or set a standing preference for better odds of a woman. Driver and Villain de Galehu, women drivers can also opt to prefer female passengers and toggle it off anytime. The rollout comes after pilots and places like San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Detroit last year, now covering the whole US Uber first tried. Something similar in Saudi Arabia back in 2019 and offers it in 40 other countries. Meanwhile, two California Uber drivers filed a class action suit last November, claiming the feature discriminates against men by giving women drivers. Access to all riders while men compete for fewer. They say it breaks state anti-discrimination laws and plays into stereotypes about men being riskier. Lift faces a matching lawsuit over its own women and non-binary driver option from earlier this year.

1:05Uber pushed back in court, calling the feature a smart fix for safety requests from riders and drivers alike, and moved to send the case to. Arbitration. Uber and Lift have worked on safety amid past assault reports, sharing a blacklist of bad drivers since 2021. The company's report fewer incidents now, with US sexual assault cases dropping from nearly 6,000 in 2017 to 2018, too. About 2700 in 2021 to 2022. Special thanks to our sponsor for supporting this episode. Head in, sound on, lights out, that is the routine, S-O-L-I, solelypillow.com.