Ladies, It's Time to Delete Your Uber App
The soon to be released app titled "Chariot For Women" aims at targeting the gap in female safety that other ridesharing companies have left wide open. Set to launch the 19th of April (first within the Boston area), the application hopes to eliminate the threat of sexual aggression towards female passengers and drivers evident in services like Uber.
Why "Chariot For Women" is needed:
There is no doubt that apps such as Uber and Lyft have transformed the way in which people today get around. The services offer quick, easy and relatively cheap ways to get where you need to be, whenever you need to be there. The majority of the time users can look forward to a delightful ride with a driver who provides water, candy and the occasional trash bag. However, a recent leak of data reports concerning the number of reported sexual assaults and rapes at the hand of Uber drivers has many people unnerved.
According to BuzzFeed News, a former Uber customer service representative recently provided them with screenshots of a search of the Uber database where tickets brought against the services drivers are stored. The search for the word "sexual assault" had returned 6,160 tickets alone — the search "rape" returned 5,827. These numbers are shocking as well as confusing since according to data provided by Uber to BuzzFeed, over the past three years the company has received just five claims of rape and less than 170 claims of sexual assault.
One possible explanation the company has given for the substantial discrepancy in numbers is that searching the word "rape" will return any name or email address within their data base that contains the four letter sequence. However, within the several screenshots obtained by Buzzfeed, nine complaint tickets contained the subject line “rape,” and at least nine tickets revealed the subject line “sexual assault” — including “uber driver sexually assaulted me,” “Uber driver sexually assaulted my friend” and “Uber driver sexually assaulted my girlfriend.”
The data leak is not the only controversy Uber has recently found itself in, as just last week the company agreed to settle out of court by paying up to $25 million under the charge of misleading passengers about the thoroughness of their driver background checks. However, Uber admits to no wrongdoing on their part.
These headlines have brought attention to the fact that current ridesharing services are not doing enough to ensure passenger (specifically female passenger) safety. Chariot for Women seeks to change that.
Image Credit: YouTube/ABCNewsWhat "Chariot For Women" is all about:
The idea for the app came about after former Uber driver, Michael Pelletz, had a troubling encounter with an intoxicated male passenger. In a statement on the Chariot for Women's website, Pelletz claims that when he did not know how to handle the man he realized how much more frightening it would have been if he had been a female driver. Additionally, he states that as a father of three girls, he couldn't help notice how vulnerable women using Uber or Lyft's services usually were. Pelletz states, "Just one bad apple behind the wheel, and those women would not be safe at all."
As evidence by the above reports, Pelletz's worries were not unfounded.
The concept behind Chariot for Women is simple: rides for women, by women. Only females (and males under the age of 13) can request rides — transgender women included. This idea spurred from the desire to protect both passenger and driver from potential physical and psychological threats, as well as enable moms to use the service with their children.
Image Credit: ChariotForWomen
Additionally, contrary to both Uber and Lyft's relatively lax screening processes, each female driver for Chariot for Women will be thoroughly background-checked before being accepted into the service.
Like Uber, upon request the passenger will see a picture of her driver, as well as the car's make and license plate number. However, Chariot for Women has added one additional safety feature — a "safe word" will be sent to the passenger which the driver must repeat upon arrival; if she does not, the passenger knows not to get into the car. This feature was added in order to ensure that women will not mistakenly get into the wrong car. Unlike Uber, the app promises there will never be surge pricing. Instead, the prices will remain fixed.
Finally, Chariot for Women's President has implemented a plan for 2% of every fare to be donated to women-focused charities. While riding, each passenger will choose from 10 customer chosen charities where she wants her 2% to go. As soon as she selects one, the charity will immediately receive the profit.
Image Credit: YouTube/NewsyTechPossible problems "Chariot For Women" will face:
Eliminating the possibility of women becoming assault victims while using a ridesharing app is both enticing and exciting. However, as employment law specialist Joseph L. Sulman recently told the Boston Globe, "whether it's legal or not is a different question." Chariot for Women's female-only policies could make it liable for gender discrimination lawsuits as the company will not hire or serve men. In response to this possibility, Pelletz has publicly stated that since the service will pick up children under the age of 13 regardless of gender, as well as transwomen, he welcomes the possible legal challenges.
A similar legal situation presented itself back in 2014, when the company SheTaxis attempted to create a female-only taxi service. While the company was overwhelmed with positive responses and high demand, they had to close their doors due to discrimination lawsuits.
While Chariot for Women faces similar issues SheTaxis did in 2014, Pelletz argues that the app is needed to in fact fight gender discrimination. He states, "There is inequality in safety in our industry." When men are victimizing women, an app that aims at placing female safety above male comfort should not be penalized. Safety should be the priority, not attempting to make sure that men don't feel left out.
Image Credit: ChariotForWomen
On another note, despite the possible legal issues, some are questioning if creating a service just for women is in actuality, giving up on the fight for true gender equality. Instead of expecting and demanding men not to be violent towards women in the first place, women now must suck it up and just take separate cars.
