I get it, Uber can be sketchy. There would seem to be a market opportunity for the new car service called "SheRides" (in New York City) or "SheTaxis" (in Westchester). The company will offer all female drivers for only female clients.
[SheTaxis] aims to serve women who may feel uncomfortable being driven by men, or who simply prefer the company of other women. The app will ask potential riders if there is a woman in their party. If not, they will be automatically redirected to other car services.
Yeah... that's probably illegal. A taxi service or a car service can't deny customers on the basis of race or sex. I mean, I'm sure that there's a market for a car service that featured only white, American drivers for only white, American clients. They could even call it "Freedom Riders" to really piss off civil rights activists.
Even if SheRides can get around its obligation to service all customers equally, it's unlikely that the company will be allowed to employ only female drivers. From the Wall Street Journal Law Blog:
Federal and New York laws forbid businesses from treating a worker or job applicant unfavorably because of the person's sex. On the federal side, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 applies to businesses with 15 or more employees, while state law covers companies with more than three people. A narrow exception is carved out for certain jobs that cannot be reasonably performed by a particular gender.
A SheTaxi spokesperson says that if legal questions arise "we'll have legal folks who will handle them." One might wonder if the company talked to any "legal folks" before launching.
But maybe nobody will complain or sue? Would a male who called SheTaxi sue if a male Lyft driver showed up instead? Again, the real problem for the service seems to be on the employment side, instead of the customer side. You can probably get away with a car service that primarily serves female customers. But it's hard to argue that a male driver should be denied employment just because of his gender.
On the other hand, having a car service that specifically vets potential drivers to make sure that they are unlikely to assault their female customers is probably a great thing. Would that all car services did that.
