A new application that matches female livery drivers with women customers is gaining a following in New York City,
The New York Times reported.
Going by the moniker
SheRides, the New York City car service will send a woman driver — when available — to pick up a fare. The women-chauffeured vehicles are identified by pink stickers. Municipal law allows only yellow cabs to be called taxis.
Women say they feel safer with another woman behind the wheel.
"There are times when I don't want to get in a taxi because I'm alone and the man can be intimidating, especially if it's nighttime and I've had too much to drink," said Lorena Cantillo, according to the Times.
The service began with 300 women drivers last month and is actively recruiting and training more female chauffeurs to meet demand.
Martha Pitterson, who has been a car service driver for over 20 years, signed up for SheTaxis — as the service is known in Westchester County and Long Island — because her first choice is to have female passengers.
Men complain she drives too slow, want to talk about topics like sports she's not interested in, and don't establish the kind of rapport she gets with women passengers, she told the Times. Moreover, she said, women also give bigger tips.
The app is open to male passengers; anyone may request a female driver. It would be against the law to reject a fare because of gender.
Civil rights attorney Norman Siegel, the former director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, says he is watching the service. "If they engage in gender discrimination we will speak up and if asked to, give consideration to filing a claim," he said, according to the Times.
Jayne Skehan, who has teenage granddaughters and looked into the app for them, is herself using the service. "I'm not saying I've never had a friendly male driver, but it's been few and far between," the Times reported.
Men, too, sometimes prefer women to drive them. "They drive more cautiously, and they are more careful in every way," Fashion designer Martin Polanco told the Times.
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