No need to call your mum next time you stumble out of Mooseheads in the early hours of the morning - all-female rideshare service Shebah has officially launched in Canberra and it's the next best thing.
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Founded in Melbourne last year by former ABC breakfast host, comedian and mother of four, Georgina McEncroe, Shebah employs female drivers and only accepts women and primary school-aged children as passengers. Boys up to 18 can ride with Shebah if accompanied by a female guardian.
According to Ms McEncroe, the rideshare service was founded purely in the name of safety.
"Catching a Shebah means sitting in the front seat of the car without feeling vulnerable, not feeling limited to travel at a certain time of day or knowing that your little one is in safe hands when you can’t drop them off," she said.
Canberra joins a long list of cities now offering the Shebah service including Melbourne, Geelong, Hobart, Sydney, Brisbane, the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast, Adelaide and Perth.
Canberra mum Emma Edmeades was looking for a bit of extra income for her family of four when a Facebook ad searching for Shebah drivers in the ACT popped up in her newsfeed.
It was the ability to "dip in and out of driving" and choose her own hours that appealed most to Mrs Edmeades.
"I was looking for something that I could fit in around the kids," she said.
"My current work was fantastic but I really needed that flexibility to go, you know what? I'm not going to work for this hour, I'm going to do what I need to do, then I'll go back to driving after that.
"The thing I love about Shebah is that it's all about empowering women and mums, saying we can get out there and we can work, and we can do it with our kids if we need to."
So far Mrs Edmeades' Shebah fares have included driving a 10-year-old to dance class on a Saturday morning - "I then texted her mum and let her know her package had been delivered safely" - and driving lots of female public servants to Canberra Airport for business trips.
"I had my kids in the car for one of our trips to the airport and it was so good to know I could have them with me while I worked," she said.
"The girls that I've driven home late at night are just ecstatic about Shebah and the fact they no longer have to dread the end of the night and figuring out how to get home safely.
"I know a lot of young women coming home from Civic, who maybe have had a bit to drink, feel a bit awkward about getting into a taxi or with another rideshare company.
"Shebah is really just like your mum driving you home."
For further information head to shebah.com.au or download the Shebah app from the App and Google Play stores.
