For some women, getting from one place to another is not just about convenience, but comfort and peace of mind. Whether heading to work, running errands or travelling late at night, safety can be an unspoken part of the journey.
It is this reality that local rideshare service DeliverMe TT says it considered in rolling out its latest feature, ONLYHer, which allows female riders to request female drivers.
With the company already led by an all-female administrative team, founder and managing director Idamarie Thomas said the addition is intended to give women an extra level of comfort when using the service.
The DeliverMe TT service, which has a mobile application and a hotline, was first launched in 2019. Thomas said her professional background and experience in logistics and project management led to the idea.
“There’s always the need for transportation,” she told WE. “People like having the option to not use public transportation, not have to sit in cramped cars, wait for hours… And I really wanted to get more involved in this.”
To date, over 50,000 subscribers have interacted with the service, with a current network of around 500 drivers. Users can pay with cash, debit or credit card, and can share their location with friends. “People of all age brackets use the service, whether it’s to take them to work, medical appointments, or even take their small dogs to the vet,” she said.
The company has both male and female drivers. But over the years, Thomas said, in engaging with customers, the topic of women sometimes experiencing discomfort or having safety concerns came up. “Recognising this, we saw a clear need to create a more tailored solution,” she explained. “In response, we have developed ONLYHer… This service is designed to provide greater peace of mind, comfort, and confidence, whether for daily commutes, late-night travel or transportation for loved ones.”
She added that in efforts to allow a structured and reliable rollout, the feature will be available via pre-scheduled bookings using the DeliverMe TT app, or the call centre at 688-4743.
“We’re always looking for new things, so there’s always product development.”
Just this year, international rideshare company Uber launched a similar feature in some states in the US. It had previously been available in over 30 other countries, and many praised it.
DeliverMe TT users can still book rides outside of this feature, in which they may get a male driver. And Thomas explained that there are currently more male drivers working with the company than female drivers, so they (male drivers) will continue to have a wide pool of possible riders.
The difference in numbers is also why she decided on the ONLYHer service being available for pre-booked rides only.
Asked how she feels having implemented such a feature, she said great.
“I feel wonderful. I think it’s a great feature… You know, you hear it all the time in the news, where sometimes women think, ‘Am I going to be harassed today? Is somebody going to tell me something about the way I look?’ You don’t always want to hear those things or feel like that.”
Generally, she said, they have not received any significant reports of harassment by riders or drivers, but both are able to make a report and rate each other on a scale of one to five.
“We take our feedback very, very seriously… They are important to us. They’re the ones who make my company survive.”
She sought to assure both customers and drivers that the team is “truly listening.”
As for the new feature, she also welcomes female drivers interested in joining the team to come on board. “I know a lot of people these days have to find two sources of income, so we do also take part-timers, those who want to handle medical appointments specifically, etc,” she said. “We are available and we will go through the interview stages with you and get you trained up to be able to use our system.”
The mobile app is available on iOS and Android.
