Ride-Sharing Service Exclusively For Women Begins Monday In NYC, Suburbs
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- There are so many options for car service these days -- from taxis and livery cabs to the ride-sharing service Uber.
And now there's an option just for women launching next week, CBS 2's Alice Gainer reported Friday.
It's called She Rides, a ride-sharing service exclusively for women, where the driver is always a female.
Driver Dinorah Decruz explained why the service makes women feel more comfortable.
"If I have to call somebody to come pick me up at 2 o'clock in the morning, 3 o'clock in the morning to go to the airport, go anywhere, I would prefer 100 percent, I would feel more comfortable," Decruz said.
She Rides works like this: A woman opens the app and requests a ride. A female driver in the neighborhood is then tapped to pick up the fare.
She Rides uses women drivers already working for established car services, with the company planning to recruit more of its own drivers, Gainer reported.
It's the brainchild of Stella Mateo. Her husband is Fernando Mateo, the founder of the New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers.
The couple has two daughters.
"Growing up, I have to shuttle my daughters around after school programs while I was working. So I always thought if I had, if I knew a woman driver, I would feel more comfortable driving my daughters around," Mateo said.
However, some say this is gender discrimination.
Law professor Sam Estreicher is an expert in employment discrimination at New York University.
"Well, on the employment side I see a real problem," Estreicher said. "In general, the rule of law is that just because customers want someone of a certain race or sex or national origin, you cannot exceed to those wishes. You are engaging in discrimination when you do that."
But Mateo said women can choose to go to an all-female gym and something like She Rides just provides them another option.
The ride-sharing service and app for female-only customers will launch in New York City, Westchester County and Long Island on Monday.
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