A new ride-sharing service in Orange County hopes to compete with giants like Uber and Lyft with its unique amenities and service.
The new app company, See Jane Go, is similar to other companies, with one caveat: it's only for women riders, and only hires women drivers.
"This isn't just about safety. It gives women on one side an income, and on the other side a ride of comfort and control," CEO Kimberly Toonen said.
Toonen said she has a daughter who worries when using a ride-hailing apps such as Uber. Her daughter would often order a ride down the street so the driver didn't know where she lived.
Toonen said she has hosted numerous focus groups who said they would prefer a ride-sharing app driven only by women, as long as the fare is the same as that of competitors and they show up at a reasonable time, Toonen said.
"When men aren't in the mix of a rider and a driver, the chances of an issue, whether it be assault or harassment, are minuscule," she said.
She said the experience created by See Jane Go would be very "female-centric," with amenities such as cosmetics and toiletries in the back and an option to choose how you want the driver to behave, from chatty to quiet.
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Men do have a chance to ride, but only if they are accompanied with a woman who can "vouch" for them. Toonen said for the most part, men will probably not want to use the app with so many other options available.
Though the app is catering to only women, Toonen believes the company can be as competitive as Uber or Lyft.
She said See Jane Go is also targeting riders who have never used a ride-sharing app before or "who may have felt unsafe before."
"Thank you Uber and Lyft for giving us such a huge market to work with," she said.
The name itself, See Jane Go, is a tribute to the main character of the popular childhood reading series.
"We were out having margaritas, and our marketing officer asks us, 'Do you remember those Dick and Jane books?' and it immediately resonated with us," she said.
Toonen calls the name "snarky" and "tongue-in-cheek."
Last week, the company was made public to investors and potential drivers. Chief Operating Officer Cassandra Miller said the app would be made public in late summer or early fall.
Currently the app will only be available to those in Orange County, though Miller said the rollout would be "aggressive," and users should expect to "See Jane Go" in Los Angeles soon.
