Rideshare safety worries have pushed one Pittsburgh resident to create an alternative just for women. Instead of relying on Uber or Lyft late at night, some women in the city are turning to a new service built specifically with their safety in mind.
Phylana Stowers founded Periwinkle Ladies Travel Club after seeing firsthand how many female passengers felt uneasy using mainstream rideshare apps. During the pandemic, she started driving for Uber and Lyft as a side job. “ It was fun. I like talking to people,” she tells Pittsburgh City Paper, “… and I started driving at night just because I’m nosy and I wanted to see like, ‘hey, what goes on around here at night?’ And at night, I found there were a lot of women who were just happy to see another woman in the middle of the night,” Stowers says.
A Response to Real Fear
Her decision didn’t come out of nowhere. Uber’s most recent U.S. safety report documented 2,717 reports in the most serious sexual misconduct categories over two years. At the same time, lawsuits accuse the company of failing to prevent systemic assault. Lyft reported over 4,000 sexual assault claims from passengers between 2017 and 2019, with cases rising each year.
As Stowers continued giving night rides, she kept hearing similar stories. One rider’s experience stuck with her and eventually sparked a major pivot. The passenger told her she would try up to three times to get a woman driver and, if she couldn’t, she just stayed home. Stowers says, “… that’s heartbreaking. And I thought about her for a while, and she was the reason why I really was like, I really am going to start this.”
A Private Model Built on Safety
Stowers wanted a setup that protected both riders and drivers. Instead of opening the platform to the public, she created a membership-only structure. “The member really gets a chance to come on the platform and be judged by how you treat the drivers, and the riders can judge the drivers. But if you are a female, then that’s the only thing that you have to be, to be a member,” Stowers says.
She also considered how to include transgender women. “We went to a lawyer before we started this for a lot of reasons, but one of them was that we really wanted to include trans women,” she tells City Paper in an email. “If they have changed their markers legally, we are able. I know that is difficult for some, but we are trying to find a way to include them without opening ourselves up to litigation for discrimination against men … We will continue to look for ways for all women to be included in the Sisterhood, but unfortunately don’t at this time.”
Drivers go through a more thorough review than passengers. They must have clean driving records, no violent offenses, and be able to maintain respectful relationships with members. Stowers is also strict about verifying identity. “Reporting is going to go both ways … one of our biggest things that can get you put out of the membership is sending a ride to pick up someone who’s not you, it has to be you … I know a lot of times driving with Uber, I would go and pick up, you know, Sally, and some guy shows up … that is something that I’m really concerned about on the platform … you have to be who you say you are, and we all have to just work together and trust each other,” Stowers explains.
Early Growth and Member Experience
Periwinkle LTC launched in October 2024 and has gradually expanded. Stowers currently has 40 members and nine drivers operating within a roughly 15-mile radius of downtown Pittsburgh. Overnight coverage typically runs from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., though she plans to grow both hours and territory. Recruiting more women to drive and join remains her biggest challenge. “We’re trying to build our membership and our drivers at the same kind of rate … we want this to be a sisterhood of safety,” Stowers explains.
Once someone becomes a member, the service functions similarly to other rideshare apps. Riders can use the app to enter their location and destination and get matched with a driver. There’s also a direct line to reach Stowers if something needs attention. “ I think it’s just a different level of intimacy just because we’re local … that’s one of the things I like about being so small, you know, because we have a better handle on what’s happening,” Stowers says.
For people who aren’t comfortable using apps, she offers alternative pickup arrangements. “We are just trying to accommodate where people are,” Stowers says, noting that riders can even send a Dropbox link with their pickup spot via text.
Looking Ahead
Stowers wants to reach 2,025 members by the end of 2025. She says more awareness and resources will be crucial, but the interest is there. “I have a lot of people asking me to bring this to different places … I promise, if we can get it going and running smoothly, I will look at where else we can go.”
Her focus right now is keeping the operation viable for Pittsburgh riders. “ It’s a labor of love … in the way of the world right now, funds are very hard to achieve. So we will continue to keep going and seeing what we can do and doing little things with what we have … I just remain encouraged that I’m doing this for a reason,” Stowers says.
Source: Pittsburgh City Paper
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