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Cape Town - Uber says that it will push for more South African women to drive in partner vehicles as part of an ambitious plan to increase safety for females.
"We have a growing number of women partner-drivers in South Africa. Our goal is to significantly grown that number of women partner-drivers in South Africa, contributing to the global 1 000 000 jobs for women by 2020," Anthony le Roux, Uber general manager for Cape Town told Fin24.
The company announced on Tuesday that it had partnered with the UN to move women empowered forward through its ambitious goal.
Uber has been under pressure after attacks on women in India and the US. The company has been banned in some cities from operating over concerns that its vetting process for drivers was not thorough.
Driver support
However, in a recent interview, Le Roux said that the local operation was stringent in terms of the background checks carried out on local drivers.
"Uber was founded with the goal of ensuring safe riders for everyone whenever, wherever. Our commitment to riders begins with connecting them to the safest rides on the road and extents to being the most reliable transportation option available, and we will continue to build on this."
Local female Uber drivers indicated their support of the initiative to encourage more women into the career.
"It is nice to represent female drivers within a safe driving profession. I want to truly inspire women to grow and Uber allows that because of the system. Uber has been good to me and I want to return the favour," said Gladness Molobela.
"I'm not a driver for Uber, I am proudly a partner. The time I have spent with Uber is the foundation of a good relationship. I often do training for my drivers and with the safety tips I provide and the details of the clients that Uber provides, it is a good union. I want my partnership to increase and of course, I want to put more cars on the road," said Victoria Mpofu from Johannesburg.
Uber drivers never carry cash on their person and all rides are booked through credit cards which some way to keeping female drivers safe, Uber said.
Drivers are also able to rate riders so that those who do not adhere to the company's standards can be removed.
"We believe that along with our driver partners we have built the safest transportation option in more than 290 cities around the world," said Le Roux.
Watch as Anthony le Roux explains Uber's focus on safety:
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