Girly Car is the first ride-hailing app exclusively for women. Focusing on safety, transparency, and respect, it offers a concrete alternative to traditional platforms. Interview with Laurent Salverius, CEO of the platform.
Faced with assaults, refusal of service, and the feeling of insecurity that many women can experience when using ride-hailing services, Girly Car aims to offer a different solution. The first app of its kind in France, it places the safety of female passengers at the heart of its model. Its CEO, Laurent Salverius, discusses the challenges and motivations behind this still rare initiative in a largely male-dominated industry.
What personally motivated you to create a ride-hailing platform designed for women?
L.S.: โIn 2019, there was a series of news reports highlighting the assaults on women. The #ubercestover campaign emerged, pointing to the growing number of assaults in ride-hailing vehicles. Alarming statistics indicated that almost every woman who used these services had experienced at least one incident, not necessarily a sexual assault, but inappropriate remarks, a sense of insecurity, etc. Then, one of my partners in this venture had a traditional VTC company. We thought, โLetโs try to launch a platform that could solve this problem.โ Hence, Girly Car!
How does Girly Car differ concretely from other ride-hailing platforms?
L.S.: We aim to be ethical in every sense of the word, not only in behavior but also in the fare structure for drivers. Our platform fees are 12.5% compared to Uber’s 55%. In our analysis, we observed the impoverishment of Uber drivers, leading them to become road mercenaries. Our pricing is not algorithm-based. For instance, for the same trip from point A to point B, we don’t have varying prices like 27 euros the first time, 22 the second, and 35 the third. We strictly consider factual elements like time, distance, hours of service…
How do you ensure the safety of passengers?
L.S.: Safety starts with a respectful environment. From registration, a natural filter occurs: drivers who are not receptive to a female-centric approach do not sign up. However, we cannot offer a 100% female service. Only 7% of ride-hailing drivers are women, and this figure doesnโt exceed 2% at night. So, we allow our clients to choose their driver in advance. We encourage bookings. For example, one of our clients has a job starting early in the morning in Nice, taking her vehicle at 4:50. The first time she used the service, she pre-booked, and now she has a regular female driver.
How do you assess your drivers?
L.S.: This is the hardest part. They are assessed based on client feedback. We are extremely vigilant. If they behave inappropriately, we will not file a police report, but we will provide all information. This transparency is communicated to our community.
Do you offer specific training for your drivers?
L.S.: We have an agreement with three training centers. This is not yet in place, but it is in the pipeline. We want to offer continuous training. We would intervene during VTC training at these centers. Some women could benefit from free spots in sessions offered by these centers if they are not eligible for state funding. The idea is to also focus on awareness programs.
Can we say that Girly Car acts as a lever for professional reintegration and economic empowerment for your drivers?
L.S.: Exactly, in the sense that we return the margin to the drivers. We can’t work for free, but we must aim for that. If we achieve significant success and sufficient profitability, the goal is to convince visibility partners to have advertising, which would largely be redistributed within the model, creating an incentive to connect to the platform.
Have you already formed partnerships with feminist associations or specific support structures for women?
L.S.: We are currently at the chicken-and-egg stage. We’ve gone back to traditional email outreach because we also try to reach a community of slightly older women who have regular travel needs, whether itโs to go to the hairdresser, shopping, and so on. We are seeking a partner who believes in this integration project and trusts us to achieve positive communication. However, all the developments we have carried out so far have been self-funded; we are not a capitalized company. It is mostly visibility that we are lacking.โ
