This preference feature prioritizes matches between women and nonbinary drivers and riders

Lyft is intorducing Women+ Connect, a new feature that matches women and non-binary drivers with more women and non-binary riders.

According to the company, although women make up nearly half of Lyft riders, they account for just 23% of drivers on the Lyft platform. Perhaps, this eill spur more women to drive and ride with their app.

“Just for your own peace of mind, the ability to choose a woman driver might be exactly the thing that allows you to say, you know what, yeah, this really is making my life better,” Lyft CEO David Risher told NBC’s Savannah Sellers in an exclusive interview that aired on TODAY.

How Does it Work?

Women+ Connect lets women and non-binary people choose to match with more women and nonbinary riders. The feature offers an option to turn on a preference to prioritize matches with other nearby women and nonbinary riders. If no women or non-binary riders are available nearby, drivers with the preference on will still be matched with men. Women+ Connect is a preference feature, not a guarantee.

When the feature goes live in a city, women and non-binary riders will be prompted in their Lyft app to select ‘Count me in.’ Doing so will increase their chances of matching with women and nonbinary drivers. Women and nonbinary drivers will see the same opt in. The preferences can be updated or opted out of in the settings at any time.

Ride-share companies have come under increasing scrutiny in regards to safety issues, over the years. In 2021, Lyft shared their community safety report revealing that they received over 4,000 reports of sexual assaults during their trips from 2017 to 2019.

Additionally, Lyft said safety incidents on their platform are statistically rare. According to the company, the type of safety incidents detailed in the report occurred on 0.0002% of rides, and well over 99% of all rides occur without any safety report at all.

Lyft states, “We’re proud of Lyft’s longstanding commitment to safety for every ride, and the impact that ridesharing has had on the standard of safety in the transportation industry. We understand that our work is never finished, and we will continue to invest in efforts that help protect and empower our community.”