After offering it in select cities last year, Lyft has expanded its ride-share service feature that pairs women and nonbinary riders with women and nonbinary drivers to more markets across the U.S.
Women+ Connect was first rolled out in Chicago, Phoenix, San Diego, San Francisco and San Jose in September. The company said it decided to expand the service to 240 additional markets after it received a strong demand since the launch.
When the Women+ Connect feature is turned on, the app will prioritize pairing drivers with riders who identify as either women or nonbinary based on their Lyft profiles — but the company said being matched is not always a guarantee.
Since the feature originally launched, Lyft said nearly 7 million rides using Women+ Connect have been completed and 67% of eligible drivers have opted to use it.
And even though you can turn off the feature at any time, users keep the feature on 99% of the time, Lyft said. It has also become one of its highest-rated driver features.
“When rideshare is better for women and nonbinary people, rideshare is better for everyone,” said Lyft CEO David Risher in a press release.
The company has added several safety features in the last few years after dozens of women filed lawsuits in 2020 claiming they were sexually assaulted by Lyft’s drivers and alleged it did not do enough to keep them safe or rectify the incidents, according to the Associated Press.
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