A new app was launched primarily for female passengers who are looking for women-driven taxi cabs and limousines, according to Yahoo.
The SheTaxi functions similarly to Uber and Lyft's ride-sharing apps. The main difference is, all of the drivers connected to SheTaxi are women.
The app was created to cater to the safety concerns of female passengers. Many of them are apprehensive about riding alone in a taxi with a male driver, according to the app's creator Stella Mateo, Time reported.
"In the taxi and livery industry, where women comprise less than 3 percent of drivers but 60 percent of riders, women's needs go unmet on either side of the partition," she said. "Why don't we have female drivers exclusively for female riders?"
Passengers who use SheTaxi settle their fares using their credit or debit cards through the app.
Currently, SheTaxi has about 100 female drivers operating in New York City, Westchester County and Long Island. All of them wear pink scarves to represent the ride-sharing service.
Due to regulations of the Taxi and Limousine Commission, it is illegal for for-hire transportation services to deny customers a ride.
Since SheTaxi drivers are independent contractors, they are allowed to offer their services to anyone they want. The app just provides a means for female passengers to locate taxis driven by women.
Aside from this, Mateo hopes SheTaxi will boost the number of female professionals in the public transportation industry.
"We're not looking to take over the industry; we're just looking to raise the number," she said.
Upon hearing about the new service, many female commuters said the app is a good idea. Bronya Shaffer of Brooklyn likened the service to women's decision to choose female doctors over male ones, according to Daily Mail.
"It's having one more opportunity in our whole wide world, in all of our interactions everywhere, to know that I can choose to have a woman if I want," she commented. "It's kind of nice."
Currently, the SheTaxi app is only available to iPhones but Mateo said a version for Android devices will be launched as well.