Ride-sharing Apps For Women Only

Using mobile apps for ride-sharing is the latest trend in Dhaka and the services are very helpful, too. Uber and Pathao are some of the popular apps used, and motorbike rides are more in demand as they are the most convenient mode of transport in the jam-packed city. But bike services are mostly offered by male riders, and many women may find that a tad uncomfortable. This scenario has influenced the launch of some women-only ride-sharing apps, like Obon, Lily, Pink SAM, etc.

Jannatul Shammy regularly uses Pathao bike service for going to her office. “Though it feels awkward, I don’t have any other option of cheaper and faster ride, so using Pathao bikes has become essential for me,” she told Y&I recently.  

When told about women-only ride-sharing apps, she said: “I have heard of those, but I have never tried the services as there are not that many female bikers available. Besides, I feared they may not be expert riders. But now knowing that most of the female riders are given training, and there are many apps for women, I would definitely love to use their services as it would make my travel a lot more comfortable.”  

Ride-sharing service Obhai Solutions Limited recently launched a separate service, named Obon, by recruiting female bikers who will be sharing rides with other women only.

There are 50 female bikers with Obon now and the number is increasing day by day. The company is also offering training courses with experienced trainers for female drivers who are willing to share car rides with Obhai.   

Another bike ride-sharing service for women only is Lily, which was launched in December 2017. Two men, Syed M Saif and Shah M Tushar, founded Lily realising the travel needs of the women in the city.

Saif, an IT professional, said, “I first thought of this app when my wife told me one day how awkward she feels sitting behind a male stranger when sharing a bike ride. It made me realise how essential a bike ride-sharing app is nowadays to move around faster in our city, and how many women are being deprived of using the services, just because they feel uncomfortable. That’s what made me do research for a year, and we eventually developed this app.”

“We realise that Lily is primarily a service-oriented business and its success would depend on skilled riders. That is why we have also started Lily Training Club, where women get training in riding bikes,” Saif said. There are plans to expand Lily services outside the city, he added.  

Kona Shaha, 24, is a biker who shares rides with Lily. Talking to this reporter, she said: “I am a student at a private university and I had to travel a long way every day to reach my campus. That is why I got myself a bike to get around faster and safely. When I got to know about the Lily app, I downloaded it immediately and I try to use it every time I travel. Though the response is still not as well as expected, I can at least pay for the fuel from my earnings.” The base fare for sharing a Lily bike ride is Tk 25, while Tk 13 is charged per kilometre, she added.  

The first women-only bike-sharing service was probably started by Share-A-Motorbike (SAM), another popular ride-sharing app, when it introduced Pink SAM in October 2017. But Pink SAM has not been officially launched yet.

“We got huge response from female bike riders and users when we announced Pink Sam. We are training our own riders and almost 300 women have already registered to share a ride with Pink SAM,” said F Z Hasan, communication director, SAM. “We want to launch the service in a bigger way than any other available app and that is why we are taking our time, training bikers to ensure the availability of the service.”

“We started our bike-training facility for women in collaboration with Bangladesh Women Riders’ Club. We will start our commercial service at the end of this month, hopefully,” added Hasan. “It will not only be a helpful service for women who want to take bike rides, but also for the bikers as they can easily earn up to Tk 20,000 per month.”

With an overcrowded public transport system where women often fail to get seats or face harassment, while many are not able to afford expensive taxi or car ride-sharing fares, these bike-sharing apps are sure to become essential services for many.

Ride-sharing Apps For Women Only

Using mobile apps for ride-sharing is the latest trend in Dhaka and the services are very helpful, too. Uber and Pathao are some of the popular apps used, and motorbike rides are more in demand as they are the most convenient mode of transport in the jam-packed city. But bike services are mostly offered by male riders, and many women may find that a tad uncomfortable. This scenario has influenced the launch of some women-only ride-sharing apps, like Obon, Lily, Pink SAM, etc. Jannatul Shammy regularly uses Pathao bike service for going to her office. Though it feels awkward, I dont have any other option of cheaper and faster ride, so using Pathao bikes has become essential for me, she told YI recently. When told about women-only ride-sharing apps, she said: I have heard of those, but I have never tried the services as there are not that many female bikers available. Besides, I feared they may not be expert riders. But now knowing that most of the female riders are given training, and there are many apps for women, I would definitely love to use their services as it would make my travel a lot more comfortable. Ride-sharing service Obhai Solutions Limited recently launched a separate service, named Obon, by recruiting female bikers who will be sharing rides with other women only. There are 50 female bikers with Obon now and the number is increasing day by day. The company is also offering training courses with experienced trainers for female drivers who are willing to share car rides with Obhai. Another bike ride-sharing service for women only is Lily, which was launched in December 2017. Two men, Syed M Saif and Shah M Tushar, founded Lily realising the travel needs of the women in the city. Saif, an IT professional, said, I first thought of this app when my wife told me one day how awkward she feels sitting behind a male stranger when sharing a bike ride. It made me realise how essential a bike ride-sharing app is nowadays to move around faster in our city, and how many women are being deprived of using the services, just because they feel uncomfortable. Thats what made me do research for a year, and we eventually developed this app. We realise that Lily is primarily a service-oriented business and its success would depend on skilled riders. That is why we have also started Lily Training Club, where women get training in riding bikes, Saif said. There are plans to expand Lily services outside the city, he added. Kona Shaha, 24, is a biker who shares rides with Lily. Talking to this reporter, she said: I am a student at a private university and I had to travel a long way every day to reach my campus. That is why I got myself a bike to get around faster and safely. When I got to know about the Lily app, I downloaded it immediately and I try to use it every time I travel. Though the response is still not as well as expected, I can at least pay for the fuel from my earnings. The base fare for sharing a Lily bike ride is Tk 25, while Tk 13 is charged per kilometre, she added. The first women-only bike-sharing service was probably started by Share-A-Motorbike (SAM), another popular ride-sharing app, when it introduced Pink SAM in October 2017. But Pink SAM has not been officially launched yet. We got huge response from female bike riders and users when we announced Pink Sam. We are training our own riders and almost 300 women have already registered to share a ride with Pink SAM, said F Z Hasan, communication director, SAM. We want to launch the service in a bigger way than any other available app and that is why we are taking our time, training bikers to ensure the availability of the service. We started our bike-training facility for women in collaboration with Bangladesh Women Riders Club. We will start our commercial service at the end of this month, hopefully, added Hasan. It will not only be a helpful service for women who want to take bike rides, but also for the bikers as they can easily earn up to Tk 20,000 per month. With an overcrowded public transport system where women often fail to get seats or face harassment, while many are not able to afford expensive taxi or car ride-sharing fares, these bike-sharing apps are sure to become essential services for many.