A rideshare service just for women
GETTING into a car with a stranger continues to be an iffy affair, even as ridesharing services improve safety measures. However, Carriage For Her attempts to make it more comfortable for women by making the service open only to them.
“the idea started when many of our female friends complained about feeling unsafe due to a lack of women drivers,” says its chief operating officer nick Smith.
“We thought we could create an app for what we believe has a strong demand.”
He claims the company’s research found that nearly 60% of rideshare passengers are women, of which around 70% prefer a female driver.
He says Carriage is meant to be efficient and safe for women and it also offers them a chance to make money.
the app will allow users to book a trip at anytime or schedule one ahead of time.
While only women can get an account with the app, users can put in a request while booking a trip to inform the driver that a male companion will be joining as a passenger.
Drivers will have the option to decline such a trip without penalty.
For additional safety, the app will have an SOS button for both the driver and passenger for alerting emergency contacts that they need help.
Asked how the service vets its drivers, Smith replies that they are required to submit their MyKad details, photos of their driving licence and car insurance.
Passengers can log in via Facebook or Google but in the future the company will require MyKad or passport details as per Land Public transport Commission (SPAD) requirements.
Smith says Carriage has nearly 100 registered drivers now and is aiming to get 150 before the launch next month in Kuala Lumpur, Petaling Jaya, Kuantan, Langkawi, Kota Kinabalu and Kuching.
the app for drivers is already available but the passenger version will only be released at launch.
though both founders are men, Smith says there are women in the core team and it’s aiming to recruit a female general manager soon.
Smith has a background in finance, while his co-founder Yap Chun Fei is an entrepreneur who develops software.
More information is available on www.carriageforher.com. – Qishin Tariq