Women-only ride-sharing coming to NZ with launch of DriveHer app

Wednesday, 15 August 2018

An Auckland law student is starting a female-only ride-sharing service, believed to be the first of its kind in New Zealand.

DriveHer is similar to Uber, where users can hail a car using a cellphone app. The difference is its drivers - and riders - must be women.

DriveHer founder Joel Rushton, 23, told Stuff he often worried about his partner's safety when she caught taxis home late at night when they were living in Melbourne and was inspired to start the business after learning about a women-only ride-sharing service in Australia called Shebah.

'It's a service that we shouldn't need. It's sad that that is the way that the world is, but it is the way that the world is. We need to protect people that we care about,' said Rushton, who is in his third year of an LLB at the University of Auckland.

**READ MORE:

* Women-only taxi service 'to protect other women from assaults'

* Sexual abuse survivor Brodie Joyce sets up new advocacy service**

People were vulnerable when they got into a car with a stranger and while some women might feel safe alone with a man, a women-only service was a good option for women who felt uncomfortable in that situation, he said.

The aim of DriveHer was to provide women with more transport choices that allowed them to feel safe.

'It's not about excluding anyone,' said Rushton.

Men could use the service as long as they were travelling with a female passenger and sat in the back.

Rushton said that like women passengers, female ride-share drivers sometimes felt unsafe.

'[Many] just don't feel comfortable driving for a lot of other companies because they don't know who their passengers are going to be, especially late at night.'

Between January 2006 and February 2015, NZTA revoked or declined more than 300 P-endorsements, which allow licence holders to drive commercial passengers, due to sexual offending.

In October 2016, an Auckland taxi driver was convicted of indecent assault after groping and kissing a teenaged passenger he was dropping home after a night out.

The year before, in Christchurch, taxi driver Mohammed Ahmed Khalil Daradkeh was jailed for eight years for a sex attack on a drunk woman who passed out in his cab.

Last week a jury failed to reach a verdict in the trial of a taxi driver accused of putting his hand down radio host Jay-Jay Feeney's top and groping her.

Kathryn McPhillips, executive director of Help Auckland, a support service for survivors of sexual violence, said while it was rare for taxi drivers to commit sexual offences against passengers she had heard about a 'a number' of such incidents and understood why some women felt unsafe with male drivers. 

'For those women who don't feel safe [DriveHer's] a good option.'

However, people should remain vigilant no matter the gender of the person they were ride-sharing with.

'We are increasingly seeing women being violent as well. There's no guarantees,' said McPhillips.

About 250 women have responded to Rushton's online ads for drivers so far.

One driver, who asked not to be named, said part of the reason she joined up was because she had a 23-year-old daughter, whom she would prefer to ride with a female than male driver.

'Hearing comments out there of what some [male] drivers say to their riders it's not very nice. They're sort of chatty but a bit flirty. It's not acceptable.'

An Uber spokeswoman said the company had no plans to offer a female-only service.

'Our focus is on ensuring that Uber is a safe and reliable experience for everyone. We welcome new entrants because it keeps us focused on delivering the very best product and customer experience for riders and driver-partners, as well as Uber Eats customers and partners,' she said.

Rushton said he planned to launch DriveHer in Auckland in October and would later bring the service to other New Zealand cities.

WHERE VICTIMS OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE CAN GET HELP

Rape Crisis - 0800 88 33 00 (Will direct you to a nearby centre), click link for information on local helplines

Victim Support - 0800 842 846 (24hr service)

The Harbour, online support and information for people affected by sexual abuse

Women's Refuge (For women and children) - crisis line available on 0800 733 843

Male Survivors of Sexual Abuse Trust (For men), Helplines across NZ, click to find out more

If it is an emergency or you, or someone you know, is at risk call 111.