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IDEAS FOR THE BIG DOC 

This week we brought in our ideas for potential documentaries to pursue for the group project. For our project, I wanted to look at an issue, rather than simply doing another portrait of an individual.

We each presented a variety of ideas from documenting houses, to beekeepers, and eventually decided to go forward with my idea of looking at Sheba, a female-only ride service, interviewing female drivers, and looking at the gender dynamics and issues present in the industry.

This idea was initially formed through a discussion I had had with a friend about taking taxis and Ubers home at night, and how no women we knew felt entirely comfortable in this situation. This progressed into talking about the recently founded company Sheba, which is an all female ride sharing service, wherein no men are allowed as drivers or passengers. We talked about the environment that we live in that necessitates such services, and the way that, beyond simply making women feel safer, this service was also opening up opportunities for a whole range of people, including those with disabilities, and parents who need someone to pick their children up from school. The dialogue here is that women are more trustworthy, empathetic, and reliable in this role.

Catching a Shebah means sitting in the front seat of the car without feeling vulnerable, no longer feeling limited by the time of day, knowing that your little one is in safe hands when you can’t drop them off and so much more. Our passengers are ecstatic that they no longer have to dread the end of the night and figuring out how to get home safe. We drive women and primary school-aged children, and boys up to 18 can ride with us if accompanied by a female guardian.

For drivers, Shebah means working when it suits them, feeling safe about who they pick up and experiencing financial freedom – our drivers keep 85% of their fares.

This idea transformed into interviewing one woman from a taxi service, one woman from Uber, and one from Sheba, and looking at their experiences, why they chose to drive with that particular service, and fostering a conversation about the gender dynamics of today, articulated through the particular dynamic of driver/passenger.