As a college student with no car on campus, options like Uber are extremely convenient. I've always had safe rides from Uber, but that hasn't been the case for everyone — especially women. The problem of safety for females isn't exclusive to the passengers either; female drivers have far too often run into trouble with problematic customers.
In a recent Buzzfeed article, an Uber customer service representative sent in screenshots of the company's customer service ticket database. When "sexual assault" was searched, 6,160 tickets appeared. For "rape," 5,827 individual tickets came up. For "assaulted," 3,524, and for "sexually assaulted," 382.
On April 19, the game will change. The app "Chariot for Women " is launching to help combat this problem. Chariot for Women is a service only offered to women or boys under 13, featuring only women drivers. The company's creator, Michael Pelletz, was a former Uber driver himself. After having a scary run-in with a problematic passenger, it didn't take long for him to figure out that a women driver might not have been able to get out of the situation like he had. Far too often, Pelletz witnessed college-aged girls stumble into cabs at two or three in the morning, obviously under the influence, defenseless if something were to happen to them. Pelletz, having daughters of his own, decided to do something about it.
Because safety for women is the foundation for Chariot, there are many precautions built into the way the service works. Drivers go through vigorous background checks before they can get accepted. Then, at the beginning of every shift, the driver has to answer a security question (which is different every time) to verify the driver's identity. The passenger receives a picture of the driver, the license plate number and make/model of the car when a ride is requested. Also, the app uses GPS to tell the passenger exactly when their ride will arrive. For an extra added measure of security, the passenger and driver both get a "safe word" sent to them when the ride request is accepted. Before the ride can start, the driver must say the safe word to the passenger to have it verified. Extra measures will be added as needed, to ensure that safety is never compromised.
The main goal of the app was to help women feel safer. As an extra bonus, 2 percent of every fare will go to a women's charity. Every month, there will be a list of 10 charities that can be donated to. As the passenger's ride begins, a pop-up will appear on their phone screen with the list, allowing the rider to choose. Immediately, the money will be transferred to the charity's account.
Personally, I know I will be downloading the app right when it comes out. I can only see positives about this plan, and I hope people will join me in supporting this business. Want to find out more? Go to Chariot for Women to read the full backstory on the company, find out more about the people involved, sign up or refer someone you know to be a driver!
