You’re a woman in Pittsburgh on a Friday night at midnight, and the party is winding down. It’s time to go home, but you hesitate. Calling an Uber or Lyft means spinning the roulette wheel of a potential bad experience, the worst of which could be some kind of sexual assault or harassment.

The statistics bear this out. Uber’s latest U.S. safety report revealed 2,717 reported incidents in the “most serious categories” of sexual misconduct in the past two years, and the company is currently facing lawsuits alleging that it has failed to prevent driver assault on a systemic level. In 2021, Lyft reportedly received over 4,000 reports of sexual assault from its users between 2017 and 2019. The same report revealed that instances of sexual assault increased year after year.

Phylana Stowers is all too familiar with the challenges facing women in Pittsburgh seeking a rideshare late at night. This has driven her to work toward changing the local rideshare gig economy by founding Periwinkle Ladies Travel Club, a woman-led, membership-only rideshare service.

During the pandemic, Stowers was looking to earn some side income and decided to start driving for Uber and Lyft. “ It was fun. I like talking to people,” she tells Pittsburgh City Paper, “… and I started driving at night just because I’m nosy and I wanted to see like, ‘hey, what goes on around here at night?’ And at night, I found there were a lot of women who were just happy to see another woman in the middle of the night, ” Stowers says.

Soon, a pattern emerged. The more women at night she would pick up, the more they would converse, and reveal how relieved they were that a woman was behind the wheel.

One particular encounter stuck with Stowers so much that she knew it was time to start Periwinkle LTC. On a routine night shift driving for Uber, Stowers met a woman who said she typically tried to get a woman driver up to three times, and if she didn’t get one, she would cancel her plans and spend the night at home. Stowers says, “… that’s heartbreaking. And I thought about her for a while, and she was the reason why I really was like, I really am going to start this.”

Safety is not just a concern for women passengers. Many women drivers for Uber and Lyft have reported feeling unsafe and unheard when reporting sexual assault. So Stowers knew she had to do things differently. Instead of being a public company, Periwinkle LTC is a private, membership-only platform.

“The member really gets a chance to come on the platform and be judged by how you treat the drivers, and the riders can judge the drivers. But if you are a female, then that’s the only thing that you have to be, to be a member,” Stowers says.

Inclusivity is important to Stowers, and something she is working to expand. “We went to a lawyer before we started this for a lot of reasons but one of them was that we really wanted include trans women,” she tells City Paper in an email. “If they have changed their markers legally we are able. I know that is difficult for some but we are trying to find a way to include them without opening ourselves up to litigation for discrimination against men … We will continue to look for ways for all women to be included in the Sisterhood but unfortunately don’t at this time.”

While both members and drivers are vetted, drivers have to go through a more rigorous process. Drivers must have a good driving record, no violent crime record, and a good rapport and respect with members.

“Reporting is going to go both ways … one of our biggest things that can get you put out of the membership is sending a ride to pick up someone who’s not you, it has to be you … I know a lot of times driving with Uber, I would go and pick up, you know, Sally, and some guy shows up … that is something that I’m really concerned about on the platform … you have to be who you say you are, and we all have to just work together and trust each other,” Stowers explains.

Since October 2024, Stowers has had 40 members and nine drivers. Her drivers can accommodate up to a 15-mile radius in downtown Pittsburgh, and night shifts most nights of the week are from 6 p.m. – 6 a.m., with the goal of expanding Periwinkle LTC’s hours and distance. Her biggest hurdle right now is finding enough women to adequately fill both roles.

“We’re trying to build our membership and our drivers at the same kind of rate … we want this to be a sisterhood of safety,” Stowers explains.

Working much like Uber or Lyft, once you sign up for a membership, the app facilitates where you are, where you want to go, and tells you when a driver is coming. There’s also the option to call the main line to talk with Stowers, who will ensure the ride went as planned.

“ I think it’s just a different level of intimacy just because we’re local … that’s one of the things I like about being so small, you know, because we have a better handle on what’s happening,” Stowers says.

Stowers also understands that some women might not be accustomed to using apps. Another way to request a ride is by sending a pickup spot in a Dropbox link via text. “We are just trying to accommodate where people are,” Stowers says.

With a lofty goal of signing up 2,025 members for 2025, Stowers understands that her passion needs more awareness and resources.

But she also knows there is a real need and want for it. “I have a lot of people asking me to bring this different places … I promise, if we can get it going and running smoothly, I will look at where else we can go.”

For right now, Stowers is working to make Periwinkle LTC a profitable, viable, and safe option for the women of Pittsburgh.

“ It’s a labor of love … in the way of the world right now, funds are very hard to achieve. So we will continue to keep going and seeing what we can do and doing little things with what we have … I just remain encouraged that I’m doing this for a reason,” Stowers says.