RIYADH — Uber announced Sunday rolling out a new registration portal for Saudi women. The portal, accessed through a separate ‘Masaruky’ landing page on its website, will serve as a one-stop shop for Saudi women interested in driving on Uber once the driving ban is lifted in the Kingdom, and learning more about the company’s initiatives for women in the Kingdom.

Uber’s ‘Masaruky’ ("your path" in Arabic) initiative aims to increase women’s participation in the workforce through access to affordable transportation, in addition to increasing women’s access to flexible economic opportunities through Uber’s technology.

The new landing page will cater to expected interest from women looking to benefit from extra earnings opportunities through Uber once they have received their licenses. Earlier this year an Uber survey, carried out in collaboration with international research house Ipsos, found that 78% of Saudi women surveyed were likely to get a driving license post ban removal, with almost a third (31%) of those surveyed indicating that they were interested in driving as an earnings opportunity.

Commenting on the announcement, Ohoud Al Arifi, Uber marketing manager in Saudi Arabia, said: “We’re keen to continue to create change that’s meaningful and improves the experiences of Saudi women with Uber. So whilst we have historically provided women in the Kingdom with mobility options that previously didn’t exist, our new Masaruky landing page for women is an exciting extension of that journey. Many women have already recognised that Uber is the right choice for anyone who wants to make an extra earning from the flexible economic opportunities the technology provides on their own schedules, and we hope the new registration portal will help address any queries they may have as they gear up to start driving on the Uber app.”

In addition to the new landing page, Uber has also announced that it is in the process of rolling out its first women’s Drivers support center in Riyadh. The new center, located in Riyadh, will see incoming female partner-drivers benefit from a fixed destination for all questions, comments and inquiries. Uber will also partner with key stakeholders to onboard new female partners, facilitating paperwork, training and access to vehicles for women interested in registering to the application. — SG