Uber is launching a new feature designed to improve safety and comfort, particularly for female passengers, according to CNBC. Beginning this August, a pilot program in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Detroit will allow women riders to request female drivers.

The feature, called Women Preferences, gives riders more control over their driver matchups while allowing women drivers to opt for ride requests exclusively from other women. Although matches aren’t guaranteed, Uber states that enabling this setting increases the likelihood of being paired with a woman driver.

Female riders will soon see a "Women Drivers" option when booking a ride. They can also schedule trips in advance with female drivers using Uber’s Reserve feature or set a general preference in their app settings. On the driver side, women can enable a "Women Rider Preference" to receive trip requests only from female passengers—an especially useful feature during late-night or high-demand periods when safety concerns may arise.

This isn’t Uber’s first experiment with gender-based matching. The company initially tested a similar feature in Saudi Arabia in 2019, following the legalization of women driving. Since then, the option has expanded to 40 countries, facilitating over 100 million trips. However, bringing it to the U.S. required additional testing, given that most Uber drivers are men. Trial runs in France, Germany, and Argentina helped refine the feature for broader use.

Ride-hailing platforms, including Uber, have long faced criticism over passenger and driver safety, including reports of harassment and assault. While Uber has introduced safety measures like PIN verification and an emergency button, many users have pushed for greater control over ride pairings. This new feature could help address those concerns while also encouraging more women to drive for Uber.

Uber’s move follows a similar initiative by rival Lyft, which in 2023 introduced a feature allowing women and nonbinary riders and drivers to match with each other. As competition over safety and user experience intensifies, such tools are likely to become more widespread.

For now, Uber plans to refine the Women Preferences feature based on user feedback, partnerships, and education efforts. If the pilot succeeds, the option could expand to more cities soon.