Want a female Uber driver? Dynamic pricing could double your fare
Another case of pink tax?
Image by Cybernews
- Uber’s Women Preferences option can cost more than regular rides because dynamic pricing reflects driver supply, pickup distance, and wait times.
- The feature aims to help female riders feel safer by increasing their chances of matching with a female driver.
- Uber says the preference does not guarantee a female driver, which has frustrated some users paying higher fares.
Key Takeaways by nexos.ai, reviewed by Cybernews staff.
Uber introduced a women-only driver option for female riders, only to have them pay higher fares. Why is that?
A user on X shared they were unpleasantly surprised after trying to get an Uber ride via a “Women Preferences” option.
The screenshot attached by the passenger showed that a regular Uber ride costs €20 (around $23). Meanwhile, an option with a female driver is more than double the price, costing €48 (around $54).
The idea behind the feature is to help women feel safer by allowing them to request a ride with a female driver.
The feature “Women Preferences” was first introduced in 2019 and became available worldwide in cities in the US and Europe in March 2026.
According to Uber, the feature is available for drivers in more than 40 countries and for riders in the US, Germany, France, Portugal, Spain, Saudi Arabia, and Brazil, with further expansion planned.
“You hate women,” said the X user who is based in France about the situation.
Not a case of pink tax
While the option to get a female driver at first was charged the same price as a regular one, this changed due to dynamic pricing, as revealed by Uber via Numerama.
The pricing model was changed to better “compensate” drivers, especially in areas with longer pickup times.
However, the issue stems from situations in more remote areas where there are fewer drivers overall, making it even harder to find a female driver.
This is not a problem in bigger cities like Paris, but waiting times then become an issue.
The price surge doesn’t seem to stem from it being a women-oriented feature, but rather from a lack of female drivers, the location, and the waiting time.
Casual feature or an extra?
Another Uber user shared their experience of requesting a female driver. They were also surprised to find that, instead of paying $12, they had to pay $16 just to ride with a woman.
“I checked twice now, and usually, it's about $12 a ride for 10 mins. To request a woman driver, it costs $16. Told my female Uber driver about it, and she said that it is crazy because women don't get paid more,” noted the Redditor.
However, many in the comments shared that it’s a simple case of supply and demand.
“There are fewer women drivers, so it will cost you more to get one. The driver telling you she doesn’t get paid more is just misunderstanding the fact that her pay is already factored into it,” one user said.
“Ma’am, the difference is literally 4 dollars, considering you are ordering the ride late at night, and also wanting a female driver. Sounds like you are being fairly charged. You can’t have it both ways,” added another netizen.
Paying more doesn’t guarantee your preference
When Uber first introduced the “Women Preferences” feature, the company noted that in cases when waiting for the ride is taking longer than anticipated, users can “opt for another ride with a faster pickup.”
Uber also added that it’s not always guaranteed that the driver will be a female, but “toggling on the preference for women drivers increases your chances of being matched with a woman driver,” added the company.
One user reported that after requesting a female driver in New York, they were assigned a male driver.
While many agreed that the company can’t guarantee they will be matched with a woman driver, the user then responded, “Might as well just call a regular Uber and avoid the markup,” hinting that they had paid for the women drivers-only feature.
I called a “Women Drivers” Uber for the first time & my driver was not a woman?
by u/peopleloveourpatties in uber
Dynamic pricing in the age of mass surveillance
The recent attention to people realizing they’re overpaying for certain services and features hasn’t come from nowhere.
Dynamic pricing tactics have become public knowledge, with airlines and hotels practicing them for years. However, with online data tracking, it becomes harder to avoid such tactics being used on us.
Such practices are now being replaced by AI-driven surveillance pricing. For example, recently, Walmart has been accused of changing prices after introducing digital price tags.
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Recently, many online content creators have started talking about Walmart working on emotional recognition technology that would allow prices to change based on customers’ emotions.
It’s been revealed that the patents in question don’t have anything to do with the implementation of such technology, but were enough to cause animosity.
Cybernews has contacted Uber for additional comment.
