Uber launches ‘Masaruky’ registration portal for Saudi women

Uber announced the launch of a new registration portal on Sunday for Saudi women. The portal, accessed through the ‘Masaruky’ landing page on its website, will serve as a one-stop shop for Saudi women interested in driving for Uber, 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 the expected interest from women looking to benefit from extra earnings 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, with almost a third (31%) of those surveyed indicating that they were interested in driving as a job.

Commenting on the announcement, Ohoud al-Arifi, Uber’s 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 recognized 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,” she added.

In addition to the new landing page, Uber has also announced that it is in the process of launching its first women’s Drivers support center in Riyadh. The new center will see incoming female partner-drivers benefit from a fixed destination for all questions, comments and inquiries. Uber will also collaborate with key stakeholders to bring on new female partners, facilitate paperwork, train them and give access to vehicles for women interested in registering on the application.

This article was first published on Saudi Gazette on June 18.