Female-Only Ride-Hailing Apps Grow in Latin America on Safety Concerns Tais Haupt - The Star
go to original October 17, 2017

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Ride-hailing startups that cater solely to women are catching on in Brazil, reflecting safety concerns in one of the biggest markets for Uber Technologies and other incumbents, which have invested heavily in security features.

One of the new mobile apps, FemiTaxi, has expanded into six Brazilian cities and is eyeing other Latin American markets. Competing app LadyDriver, which launched in Sao Paulo in March, will start operations in Rio de Janeiro in October.

Ride-hailing apps for female drivers and passengers are not unique to Brazil. All-women ride hailing app See Jane Go launched in California in 2016, and rival Safr launched in Boston this year.

Yet their rapid growth in cities such as Sao Paulo, Uber's biggest market by rides, underscores rising concerns about public safety in Brazil and efforts to shield women from the discomfort and danger of a culture steeped in machismo.

Reports of sexually charged crimes such as attempted rape rose by double digits in Sao Paulo state in August from a year earlier, and high-profile cases of sexual assault on public buses have drawn attention to the issue.

Metros in the cities of Belo Horizonte and Recife rolled out female-only train cars in the past year, taking up an idea pioneered by Rio more than a decade ago.

"I think the problem of sexual harassment in public transport always existed, but it wasn't discussed," said Gabriela Correa, founder and CEO of LadyDriver. "Now woman are standing up, taking initiatives like our own to seek safety."

Read the rest at The Star

Related: Mexican State of Puebla to Crack Down on Taxi Apps After 2nd Killing (Associated Press)

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