New all-female rideshare company launches in Atlanta

By Crystal Bui

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    ATLANTA, Georgia (WGCL) — An Atlanta woman is working to make it safer for other women to get around.

Staggering statistics prompted her to launch a rideshare service just for women. Lyft says they had more than 4,000 sexual assaults reported from 2017 to 2019, and Uber says they had nearly 6,000 from 2017 to 2018.

For some women, getting home safely is a big concern, especially if they’re grabbing a rideshare with a driver they don’t know.

“There’s been times when guys get really like, they want my number. And I’m in their car, so I feel uncomfortable,” explained one woman. “TikTok even has that sound that you can play when you get in a car that feels weird, that you can pretend you’re on the phone with someone.”

Safety and empowerment for women is the new concept behind an all-female rideshare company in Atlanta called “HeRide.” It’s an alternative rideshare app for women, made for women, by women.

“Our slogan is, ‘Choose to be unbothered,’” said Jillian Anderson, founder of HeRide.

Anderson used to be a driver for Lyft and Uber. Her goal of only having female drivers is to make sure more women are comfortable riding solo.

“One thing I noticed was, a lot of women I would pick up would tell me they were canceling rides until they got a woman driver,” said Anderson.

You can download the app right now, although it’s still in the early stages. There are only about 10-15 female drivers logged on every day, so you have to book in advance to make sure you secure a ride.

Anderson is looking to raise over $1 million to get the app going on-demand this summer.

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