In almost 5,000 trips, LA rideshare driver Susan Greenwald has been in some uncomfortable situations but never felt like she was in danger.

“I’m pretty good at dealing with people after teaching junior high school growing up in New York,” she said.

Plus, Greenwald never drives late at night. But she said many of her passengers have felt unsafe using rideshare apps.

“‘Oh my god, I’m so glad it’s a woman driver.’ I hear that all day long,’” she said.

The rideshare app Uber is rolling out a new feature in LA, San Francisco, and Detroit, allowing women drivers and passengers to request to be connected only with other women. Its main competitor, Lyft, has offered a similar feature nationwide since early last year.

Both apps say improving women’s safety in the rideshare economy is a goal, as well as recruiting more women drivers.

Greenwald has been using the women connect feature on Lyft since it debuted last year.

She guesses 90% of her pickups on that app are women and LGBTQ+ people.

“It’s sort of like a beauty shop in there. They end up just blabbing to me. It’s just a more comfortable situation, I think, on both ends,” she said, adding that she’ll try out Uber’s new feature when it rolls out in LA next month.

Every year, thousands of drivers and riders report harassment and assault while using rideshare apps.

Connecting women users could keep them safer, said Camiel Irving, Uber’s vice president of operations. “I’m excited that we’re giving women this choice,” she said.

But there may not be enough women drivers to quickly meet every passenger request. Uber said about one in five of its drivers are women; Lyft reports similar numbers.

“What’s really important to us is that we’re able to keep wait times low when people request these trips,” Irving said.

The company will be watching its pilot markets to see if the new feature attracts new women drivers, per Irving.

Alexandrea Ravenelle, an expert on gig economies at UNC Chapel Hill, said that might pan out, just as rideshare driver pay is on the decline.

“If you wanted to be cynical about this, you could say, ‘Well, yeah, when teaching was well paid, it was a job for men. And now, as Uber stops being well paid, suddenly let’s try and recruit more women into doing this,” she said.

Stricter vetting and ID requirements for passengers would do more to protect drivers, Ravenelle added.

In LA, Susan Greenwald expects women's preferences to give her an advantage in scoring Uber trips. She said some male drivers might be unhappy with that.

“They really shouldn’t give us a hard time. You know, it’s like, there’s so few of us driving,” she said.

For her safety, Greenwald still won’t drive after 9 p.m. — when she thinks demand for women drivers could peak.