While women make up nearly half of Lyft riders, they account for just 23% of drivers on the Lyft platform, based on a recent survey.

Lyft is introducing Women+ Connect, a new feature that matches women and nonbinary drivers with more women and nonbinary riders. This highly requested feature offers more control over the driving experience for women and nonbinary people, allowing them to feel that much more confident. Women+ Connect also offers riders more choice.

How it works

Women+ Connect puts women and nonbinary people in the driver’s seat — literally — by letting them choose to match with more women and nonbinary riders. The feature offers the option to turn on a preference in the Lyft app to prioritize matches with other nearby women and nonbinary riders. If no women or nonbinary riders are nearby, drivers with the preference on will still be matched with men as Women+ Connect is a preference feature, not a guarantee.

When the feature goes live in a city, women and nonbinary riders will be prompted in their Lyft app to select ‘Count me in,’ which will increase their chances of matching with women and nonbinary drivers. Women and nonbinary drivers will see the same opt in. Anyone can update their preferences or opt out in their settings at any time.

The feature will roll out in select early-access cities in the US: Chicago, Phoenix, San Diego, San Francisco, and San Jose. We’ll be ensuring customers in each city have a great experience as we look to roll out to more cities very soon.

“Women+ Connect is all about providing more women and nonbinary people the opportunity to earn money on their terms and giving riders more choice,” said Lyft CEO David Risher. “We hope this gives millions of drivers and riders another reason to choose Lyft.”

Lyft is committed to constantly working to make the Lyft experience better for riders and drivers. They are doubling down on riders’ preferred modes, like Wait & Save, and making support improvements to help them feel cared for. And earlier this year, Lyft made upgrades to Upfront Pay — which helped increase per ride earnings – average earnings are 10% higher per ride, including tips and bonuses, on the Lyft platform as compared to earlier in the year.

In the coming months, Lyft will launch even more improvements to scheduled rides, airport pickups, and ride filters, and they are also testing a new beta feature that allows an ADT agent to view a live stream of a driver’s phone cameras when requesting Emergency Help.

Learn more about Women+ Connect visit: lyft.com/Women+