Southern California Now Has an Uber for Women
Photo Courtesy of See Jane Go
Savannah Jordan didn’t plan to launch a business at 18. She was considering a future career as an elementary school teacher, scoping out part-time job options flexible enough to balance with college. A people person who lives in ride-hail-dense Southern California, Uber was almost a fit. Almost. But she could end up with anyone in her backseat.
Jordan was hesitant to even be a passenger after hearing her girlfriends’ stories of aggressive drivers. She was talking about it with her father, William Jordan, one night in January 2016 when the idea came: What if there was a ride company for women, with women drivers?
See Jane Go today offers rides in Orange County and Long Beach, just south of Los Angeles. After the Jordans invested their own money and did two fundraising rounds—guided by William’s extensive investment experience as a wealth manager—See Jane Go began its current test launch in September 2016.
Photo courtesy of See Jane Go
The startup for the safety-conscious continues to raise capital to expand into other U.S. cities, and eventually, other countries.
William, his daughter’s official co-founder in the Laguna Hills-based company, wants to clarify that they’re not on any kind of misandrist mission. “See Jane Go doesn’t hate men,” he said in an interview alongside Savannah earlier this month. “We just don’t think a woman should have to ride alone with a man.” Males, he noted, can come along as a secondary passenger when a female primary rider “vouches” for him. The service has driven couples, mothers with sons, and groups of friends, and will continue to.
While See Jane Go avoids characterizing men as dangerous, the nascent concept has benefited from disturbing local news in recent months. An Uber driver was charged with sexually assaulting an unconscious 17-year-old girl in Laguna Niguel, not far from See Jane Go’s headquarters, in November 2016. The assailant also lived in Orange County, and had picked the victim up from a bar before he was discovered assaulting her in the backseat of his car, by one of her family members.
Two months earlier in September 2016, at about the same time See Jane Go had started operating in beta, an Uber driver in nearby Los Angeles became enraged when his passenger asked him to stop texting while driving, eventually attempting to drag her from the car. She captured the incident on video using her phone.
