Uber Canada adds women driver preference, other safety features

Uber will launch new safety features aimed at women, seniors, and teenagers this month.

The first feature, named Women Driver Preferences, allows women, non-binary people, and teens of any gender to reserve a trip with a woman driver in participating Canadian cities. Uber also notes that on-demand requests will also be available in select areas, subject to driver availability. Uber initially started testing a similar program in a few markets globally in July of last year, where women drivers could select the option to only pick up female passengers, and women passengers could opt to select female drivers.

The second feature is known as expanded senior accounts. Building on last year’s Canadian launch, seniors can now set up and manage a senior account independently or connect with a family organizer for support with booking rides and managing payments. Uber also adds that seniors who manage their own account can still share their trip status with a loved one.

The expansion also brings larger text, clearer icons, customizable pickup preferences, and the option to let drivers know they are a senior and may need more time at pickup.

The third and final feature is known as live video for teen trips. Essentially, parents and guardians who are linked to a teen account can check in during eligible rides through the driver’s smartphone camera, if the driver has enabled that feature. Interestingly, both teens and drivers are notified when a guardian is watching, and only the linked guardian can view the encrypted stream live.

These new features come a few months after Uber released a new feature that allowed users to book a hotel directly on the app through a partnership with Expedia.

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