Lyft has announced an initiative that aims to bolster safety for riders and drivers who identify as women or nonbinary. Women+ Connect is a feature that gives women and nonbinary drivers the option to match with women and nonbinary riders more often. Lyft says this is an opt-in feature that's preference-based. If a driver activates Women+ Connect but there are no women or nonbinary people who are looking for a ride close by, they'll still be matched with a male rider and vice versa.
The feature will initially be available in Chicago, Phoenix, San Diego, San Francisco and San Jose. Lyft plans to enable it in more cities in the near future. When it's available in their area, women and nonbinary riders and drivers will see a "count me in" prompt. If they agree to this, it's more likely that they'll be matched with a woman or nonbinary person.