Uber on Monday announced the launch of a new Women Preferred View feature for female drivers in Saudi Arabia, which provides them with the option to be connected to women riders.
A global first for Uber, the feature underwent a pilot run last year and has now been incorporated as a full-fledged feature exclusive to women drivers in the Gulf kingdom, which lifted its ban on female motorists in 2017.
The launch comes on the back of Uber’s Masaruky initiative that aims to increase women’s participation in the workforce through access to affordable transportation, in addition to increasing women’s access to flexible, part time economic opportunities through the use of Uber technology.
The feature is designed to meet growing interest from Saudi women seeking to benefit from the flexible economic opportunity that Uber provides, the company said in a statement.
Tino Waked, general manager of Uber Middle East and North Africa, said: “Last year we announced the launch of Masaruky, an initiative aimed towards empowering women with economic opportunities by providing accessible transport solutions. We have seen an incredible response in the kingdom thus far. As part of this initiative, this newly introduced feature will open new doors and opportunities for women as Uber driver-partners, while being conscientious of local cultural norms.”
He added: “We launched this feature in response to the feedback we received from women drivers in Saudi Arabia and we are committed to always being thoughtful of how we can always improve their experience driving on the app.
“This is just the start, and we will continue working with experts to leverage our external research as we move forward to ensure that this is in the best interest of women driver-partners in the kingdom.”
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