Uber Technologies Inc. said it will begin piloting a “Women Drivers” ride type in the coming weeks in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Detroit, allowing female riders to request female drivers and letting women drivers limit trips to female passengers. The option will appear alongside existing products such as UberX and can also be set as a preference in the app. The gender-matching tool has been available overseas since 2019 and has been used on more than 100 million trips across 40 countries. Women account for roughly one in five Uber drivers in the United States, and internal surveys indicate that three-quarters of female riders want the choice to pair with women behind the wheel. Uber says the feature is aimed at improving safety while encouraging more women to drive on the platform. The rollout comes as the company confronts heightened scrutiny over rider safety. Uber’s latest U.S. safety report logged 2,717 of the most serious categories of sexual assault during 2021-22, and more than 2,300 plaintiffs are pursuing lawsuits that claim the firm failed to prevent attacks. A judge recently allowed allegations that the absence of gender-matching contributed to some assaults to proceed. Rival Lyft introduced its Women+ Connect program in 2023 and this week unveiled a separate option letting passengers “favorite” or block drivers, underscoring the intensifying competition to retain riders and drivers through added safety and loyalty features.