Starting next week, women will be able to request a female driver through a new livery service that caters exclusively to them.
It's called SheTaxis — SheRides. It starts Sept. 16.
The New York Times says the drivers will wear hot pink pashmina scarves.
The service, created exclusively for women, will take requests for rides through an app. Potential riders will be asked if there is a woman in their party. If not, they'll be redirected to other car services.
It wasn't immediately clear how that would work within current New York City cab regulation. A Taxi & Limousine Commission official said the new car service would be subject to the same rules as yellow cabs, which are prohibited from refusing service to customers based on factors such as gender.
The SheRides app will be available only through Apple but will eventually be made available for Android.
Stella Mateo is behind the livery service. Her husband is Fernando Mateo, the founder of the New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers. The group represents 30,000 taxi and livery drivers.
She says she plans to expand the service to other cities.
