Women-only Uber set to launch in Boston. Isn't that illegal?
Chariot, a ride-hailing app for only women drivers and passengers, is set to launch in Boston later this month.聽
Founder Michael Pelletz, an Uber driver himself, said he came up with the idea for Chariot after he 鈥� as a man - felt uncomfortable with a male passenger. And after talking to his wife and many female Uber passengers, Mr. Pelletz 鈥渒new he had to come up with ,鈥� explains Chariot鈥檚 website. 鈥淓specially women passengers and drivers.鈥澛�
But Chariot's female-only hiring and service practices will likely face tough legal battles in the near future, civil rights lawyers tell the Boston Globe.
鈥淭o limit employees to one gender, you have to have what the law calls a bona fide occupational qualification. And ,鈥� Massachusetts employment law specialist Joseph Sulman tells the Globe. 鈥淭he law鈥檚 really tough on that. For gender, it鈥檚 not enough to say, 鈥榳e really just want to have a female here because our customers prefer that to feel safer.鈥欌�澛�
But Pelletz says he isn鈥檛 worried.聽
鈥淲e look forward to legal challenges,鈥� Pelletz tells TechCrunch. 鈥淲e want to show there鈥檚 inequality in safety in our industry. We hope to go to the US Supreme Court to say that if there鈥檚 safety involved, .鈥澛�
Chariot says its safety measures are unprecedented for ride-hailing apps. All drivers will undergo background checks through the notoriously strict Safer Places program and all drivers must pass Massachusetts鈥檚 Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) check, the same in-depth check used at daycare centers and preschools.聽
And when a passenger requests a Chariot, she will be sent a specific code word. Her driver will have the same specific code word, so each passenger can ensure she is getting in the car with the right driver. Chariot also prides itself on never implementing surge pricing and donating two percent of all proceeds to female-focused charities.聽
鈥淚t took only ten minutes for Michael to come up with an entire business plan for a brand new ride share company; driven by women, for women and children passengers only,鈥� explains Chariot鈥檚 website. 鈥淭his was the . He replayed all the conversations of unsafe rides that women passengers had with taxi, Uber and Lyft drivers throughout the last year.鈥�
Uber's poor global聽image for women's聽safety is no secret. In October, sued Uber for neglect and fraud after they were allegedly sexually assaulted by their Uber drivers and Uber recently settled another class action lawsuit for $25 million for claiming to be the "safest ride on the road" with "the gold standard" of drivers' background checks. And across the world in India, of kidnapping and raping a female passenger.聽
And on the driver side of business, Uber also acknowledges that they have a women problem.
In May 2015, Uber announced an ambitious goal to recruit female drivers. Through a partnership with UN Women, Uber said the ride-hailing company would hire . But one week after the company鈥檚 press release, UN Women executive director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka broke the partnership with Uber, amid backlash from union groups who said . 聽聽
Drivers often complain about the lack of driver support from Uber, evident in their employee turnover rate. Several female drivers told BuzzFeed that they had , and that Uber was slow to respond and only ended up offering a vague apology and $10 driver credit.
鈥淲hen fed-up drivers quit, new drivers are willing to take their place 鈥� twice as many new drivers every six months,鈥� says Forbes.
Only of Uber鈥檚 162,000 active drivers are women.
Pelletz says children under the age of 13 and transgender women are also welcome to use Chariot.聽
