In the bustling heart of Bengaluru, a quiet revolution is unfolding, one two-wheeler ride at a time. Uber Moto Women is a transportation initiative launched in December 2024. This women-only service connects female riders with female drivers, ensuring a safe environment, promoting empowerment and trust in a country where women’s mobility, at any time of the day, has often been limited by fear. It is a bold step forward in addressing the long-standing challenges women face in public and shared transport spaces.
Uber Moto Women is a transportation initiative launched in December 2024.
Imagine the sense of security a woman will get while booking a bike ride after a late-night meeting, reassured by the knowledge that her driver is not just competent but also understands the silent struggles of navigating the city as a woman. Uber Moto Women offers advanced safety features like real-time trip tracking, anonymised contact information, and a dedicated helpline.
But this initiative is about more than safety. It is about creating opportunities, encouraging women to reclaim public spaces, participate in the economy, and shape a future where mobility is a right, not a privilege. Uber Moto Women is a ride toward progress, one woman at a time.
What is Uber Moto Women?
Uber Moto Women is India’s first women-only bike taxi service. This service connects female riders with female drivers which addresses the safety concerns of women and also allows mobility while offering flexible earning opportunities for female drivers. According to Uber, the service is thoughtfully designed based on extensive feedback from female users, and aims to provide a safe, affordable, and convenient commuting option for those who prefer a gender-specific travel experience.
Women drivers have expressed how the initiative has positively impacted their lives. One driver shared, ‘Before, I worked in a garment factory and earned only Rs. 12,000–13,000 per month, which wasn’t enough for my family. Now, with this job, I have control over my schedule and can comfortably manage both my earnings and household needs.’
To ensure the safety of riders, Uber has integrated advanced technology into the service. Riders can share their trip details with up to 5 contacts for real-time tracking, and anonymisation of phone numbers and drop-off addresses are strictly protected to hide user privacy.
To ensure the safety of riders, Uber has integrated advanced technology into the service. Riders can share their trip details with up to 5 contacts for real-time tracking, and anonymisation of phone numbers and drop-off addresses are strictly protected to hide user privacy. The RideCheck feature monitors long stops, mid-way drops, and route deviations, and support is offered when needed. During travel, the women riders and drivers are offered Uber’s 24×7 Safety Helpline, through which they get priority support whenever needed.
Safety is not a luxury
While this initiative is commendable for many reasons, it also spoke about a reality, which is not without its merit. Women often do not feel safe traveling alone at nights or with male cab/auto drivers. A young woman, now settled in Adelaide, visited India in December for the holidays. She, her brother, her cousin, another friend of hers from Adelaide, and her friend from India were meant to meet in the evening, before 8 p.m. However, due to a spontaneous change in plans, the meeting time got delayed, and the four friends had to pick up the cousin from her house.
At this point, the woman’s other friend from Adelaide asked, ‘Can’t your cousin just take a cab or something and meet us at the venue? It would save so much time.’ The woman replied, ‘No, no girl in Delhi would feel safe traveling in a cab that late. Parents don’t allow it. Even my parents wouldn’t agree. I’m only allowed to go now because my brother is coming with me, so it’s considered safe.’
She then shares an experience from traveling in Mumbai at 4 a.m. after Anuv Jain’s concert back in January. She relates how, in that instance, it was completely safe, and the auto driver was kind to her. That is not commonly seen in the Indian metropolitan cities.
When a friend of hers mentioned to her that she sometimes book a Rapido bike to and from her office, her instant reaction was, ‘What if the rider does something?‘ This shows the overwhelming concern every woman faces daily. Recently, a few memes on Instagram shows how a girl in an auto panics if the driver takes a wrong turn. The first instinct as shown in these memes is for the woman to jump out of the moving auto. These memes, as funny as they are, point out how deeply ingrained fear is when traveling alone with a male driver, especially during late hours, or even during broad daylight.
A young woman who works at Tata Motors says she is often required to travel late at night for dealership meetings. When she expressed her discomfort to her manager, he simply replied, ‘Get used to this; it is your job.‘ Instead of addressing her concerns or providing alternative solutions, this straightforward response highlights the lack of sensitivity and compassion toward female employees.
Instead of addressing her concerns or providing alternative solutions, this straightforward response highlights the lack of sensitivity and compassion toward female employees.
These everyday incidents, which is the new normal for many students and working women, is the on-ground reality in our country where safety remains a great concern for most women. In such a scenario, Uber Moto Women is a small but significant step that addresses the safety concerns of women.
The economic importance of Uber Moto Women
More than safety, Uber Moto Women helps increase the participation of women in the economy in India. Bike taxis are one of the fastest-growing transport modes and useful for transforming urban mobility and livelihood creation. According to a KPMG report, over 280 million bike-taxi rides across platforms were recorded for the year 2022. Bengaluru has already seen one million rides per month and is now the largest bike taxi market in the country. Despite that, women representation in this place is still proportionally low owing to societal norm, safety issue and family responsibilities.
According to a study by Oxford Economics, women’s workforce participation can increase by over 6% by 2028 if they have more access to ride-hailing services. The five key cities of Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata, and Mumbai will add 0.32–0.56 million more women to the workforce, hence increasing the gross value added (GVA) by around 0.7–1.2% by 2028.
Safe, affordable, and flexible options to commute remove the main barriers to women entering the workforce. According to the research, it has been identified that:
- 40% of the ride-hailing services for working women have helped in entering the workforce.
- 33% of working women riders switched from part-time jobs to full-time jobs.
- 33% of the ride-hailing services for working women riders gave them better job opportunities.
Two-wheelers, especially scooters, have transformed the lives of women in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities by making it possible for them to engage in mall jobs, call centres, and gig work like last-mile parcel delivery and hyperlocal food delivery.
By filling the connectivity gap, Uber Moto Women provides both drivers and passengers with access to such opportunities, thus supporting economic inclusivity.
By filling the connectivity gap, Uber Moto Women provides both drivers and passengers with access to such opportunities, thus supporting economic inclusivity. Social ventures that offer training in two-wheeler riding among women increase the talent pool. Improving gender parity at work adds $770 billion to India’s GDP by 2025 or 18% higher than its current growth trajectory.
India’s female labour force participation rate is as low as 37%, compared with the world average of 47%. Among other things, there is no safe transport and a traditional gender role expectation that keeps them away from accessing jobs. With Uber Moto Women in urban areas, commuting to jobs for women is made safe and reliable, hence the access to job opportunities that can match their skills and career ambitions, thereby improving their earnings and increasing their economic empowerment.
A step closer to equality
The Uber Moto Women initiative is a big step in addressing women’s safety concerns and economic empowerment. It addresses the needs of women as both riders and drivers, enhancing mobility while providing financial independence and self-reliance. Other than direct impacts on personal lives, changes trickle down into families and societies to bring education, health services, and more improved standards of living.
It shatters the stereotypes and conventions set against women that aim at limiting their movement and job options. However, challenges remain in training more women drivers, societal biases against women, ensuring safety, and service standards.
This is going to create a ripple effect, which will help families, communities, and the economy at large, and pave the way towards an increasingly inclusive and equitable workforce in urban areas. Programs like Uber Moto Women would be instrumental in reshaping the mobility landscape and bridge that gap between participation of men and women in workforces, thus instigating inclusive growth across India.
