Trans-inclusive female ridesharing service Shebah expands in Australia

Australian all-female ridesharing service Shebah is expanding its network in Australia.

A year after launching on International Women’s Day, the trans-inclusive service is expanding its current network in major cities to also include Hobart, Canberra, Darwin and Adelaide, Smart Company has reported.

Similar in concept to Uber, the service is strictly for women drivers and riders.

Children may also use Shebah, including boys accompanied by a female parent or carer.

The service explicitly welcomes trans women and non-binary people among its drivers and users.

“Shebah is unapologetically a female service. That means all women are welcome,” the website reads.

The service was created to provide employment for female drivers and safety for women passengers.

“We’re doing something really different,” said founder George McEncroe.

“It’s a bit of a wake-up call that other services haven’t been responsive enough, there’s a growing resentment to the 60 per cent passengers of Ubers and cabs, who are women and who want a safer option.”

McEncroe said the women who drive with Sheba are diverse.

“Our youngest driver is 22 and our oldest driver is 72. It’s a cracking team,” she said.

“We’ve got transgender drivers, we’ve got drivers with disabilities, drivers who have stepped out of really high-ranking CEO worlds, we’ve got academics, writers, poets, actors, drivers who live in the burbs and raising a couple of kids. It’s a really mixed group.”

Shebah currently has more than 800 drivers in Melbourne, Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat, Sydney, Perth, Brisbane, the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast, with the number to increase following the expansion into other cities.