Trenelle Doyle To Launch Rideshare Service To Make Riding Safer for Women and LGBTQ+ Individuals

An Oregon woman is launching a personalized rideshare app designed to make women and LGBTQ+ individuals feel safer.

Despite the convenience factor of quickly tapping an app to request a paid ride, not everyone feels completely comfortable using a ridesharing company. According to The Denver Channel, Trenelle Doyle recognized the need and founded a transportation company called Go Girl Ride in Portland, Oregon.

Doyle plans to launch her Go Girl Ride venture on Juneteenth.

“For me, what better way to launch and say we are here on a day, that is, about the liberation of Black Americans and it’s not just Black Americans who Juneteenth means so much to,”  Doyle said in an interview with The Denver Channel.

Her lived experiences as a rideshare driver gave way to the idea because many of her customers disclosed that they had been harmed while riding with other drivers.

The creator of @gogirlride says the stories she heard as a ride-share driver from her passengers of being harassed or assaulted on their rides made her realize there had to be a better ride option. https://t.co/b0SMhwKHC8

— ABC 27 (@abc27) June 8, 2021

Big companies are paying attention to similar ridesharing concerns. MSN reported that Uber and Lyft enhanced their safety features, since issues such as driver impersonation, possibly encountering sexual predators, and accident risks were a concern for riders.

A 2019 safety report from Uber highlighted the necessity for a company like, Go Girl Ride. MSN revealed details of the study indicating that there were 58 fatalities, 3,045 sexual assaults and nine fatal physical assaults reported out of 1.3 billion total rides in the U.S. in 2018.

Doyle emphasized that potential drivers will undergo a background check and interview process.

Portland Monthly noted Go Girl Ride has even sold safety kits for women and non-binary individuals to carry with them during ridesharing outside of Doyle’s company.

“The majority of women would get into my car and say, ’Oh, thank god you’re a woman,” she told the news outlet. “They would proceed to tell me their not-so-great experiences with a creepy driver, with getting dropped off around the corner because they didn’t want the driver to know where they lived, with being harassed, or kicked out of the vehicle.” 

Items are available for sale through Go Girl Ride’s website, which also mentions that the service is being launched to make a diverse community safer.

Go Girl Ride is currently recruiting drivers. Some women replied to a social media post about how to become drivers for the transportation service. The employment may offer more safety perks for drivers, too.