Female-Only Ridesharing Service Makes West Coast Debut in O.C. Next Month

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Is an all-female ridesharing service an idea whose time has come for women who share safety concerns over solo usage of existing rideshare options like Lyft and Uber?

One startup down in the O.C. is banking on it.

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See Jane Go is a new ridesharing app that is meant to be a safer alternative by employing only female drivers and only allowing women to hail a ride (though men can also ride if they’re with a woman).

The service, which first launched in Laguna Hills, plans to debut toward the end of July in the greater Orange County area then eventually expand to L.A. in the fall.

Interested riders can request  an update when the app is ready for download and drivers can currently sign up for more information.

We do know there will be a background check of driving records, a vehicle safety check, and that the vehicle must be less than 11 years old; the drivers will get 80 percent of the revenue plus tips. according to OC Weekly.

Traffic in L.A. on the 101
Typical day-time traffic on the 101 moving through DTLA. Credit: Brian Champlin / We Like L.A.

In order to create driver loyalty the company is partnering with a yet-to-be-revealed manufacturer for its 30 Rides program that’ll provide car payment coverage of about $300 if any driver provides 30 rides in a month in their new car.

See Jane Go was born after Savannah Jordan, 18, of San Juan Capistrano expressed interest in becoming a driver to her father William who was aware of the numerous reports of assaults related to Uber/Lyft.

Recently, there was a sexual assault case in Westlake with a fake Uber driver while an actual Uber driver who had threatened violence and stole a passenger’s iPhone was arrested in L.A. in April.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BG72LjWBAIP/?taken-by=seejanegoinc

“The one thing that I love about See Jane Go is that it really does feel like family. We’re like a girlfriend,” Jordan told CBS. “You’re not going to feel anxious when you’re getting into this car. It’s going to feel so comfortable to you.”

A unique aspect of See Jane Go is that it allows drivers and passengers to “favorite” each other increasing the likelihood that a passenger will get the driver they liked.

“It’s not a guarantee that you’ll get Sally instead of Betty,”  CEO Kimberly Toonen told TechCrunch, “but it’s a smart algorithm so that your favorite driver will come up in the queue. They’ll get the hail before anyone else.”

The concept of the first all-female ridesharing service isn’t necessarily a new idea.

A service first launched in Boston with the debut of Safeher (formerly known as Chariot for Women), and others have popped up in recent months including DriverHer in Toronto.

[h/t: LAist]

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