Paris Introduces Female-Only Taxi Service

It should come as no surprise to frequent taxi hailers that the majority of cab drivers are male, and Uber reports the majority of its drivers also are male. But a separate study has shown slightly more than 60 percent of taxi passengers are female, so what’s the reason for the imbalance?

Paris sought to address this with a new female-only taxi service called Women Drive. The company’s aim is to show that public transportation does not have to be a male-driven industry, and that women can take part in this business as well. Women who are skeptical to take cabs on their own for safety reasons can hire the service to assuage their personal concerns.

Each Women Drive vehicle is equipped with water bottles, complimentary makeup kits and personal computer tablets to use in transit.

Women Drive’s drivers are all multilingual, catering to foreign visitors seeing Paris for the first time or who don’t speak the local language. The drivers also are knowledgeable about local attractions and can serve as a veritable in-transit concierge for visitors who are interested in shopping, sightseeing, restaurant hopping or who just want a female chauffeur for an hour or a full day.

Passengers who want to book the car service must do so online at least 24 hours before they would like to be picked up. The flat rate for the service starts at €50 ($58) per hour.