🚗🙋🏽‍♀️ Is this the new Uber?

It’s Thursday, Boston.

🥟 It might’ve taken a dip during COVID, but Boston’s dim sum scene is SO back. And to prove it, writers at the Globe tried — and rated — some of the city’s best. Spoiler: Ming’s Seafood and Sun Kong came out on top. Check out the whole list here.

👀 What’s on tap today:

• Regular MBTA service? IDK her.

• Boston’s next mayor?

• Dunkin’s wicked lahhhge

Up first…

ALTERNATIVE TRANSIT

Uber for the girls

Let’s be real: For many women and people of color, rideshare apps can be scary. And Boston’s lack of late-night transit doesn’t often leave folks with many other options. But one local company is looking to change that.

Enter: DrivHer, a new rideshare service that promises a safer, more comfortable ride for all. Here’s what you need to know:

🙋🏽‍♀️ The issue of safety in rideshares is no joke. Stories from passengers and drivers alike paint a grim picture, and the data from prior years show that Uber and Lyft passengers have reported thousands of sexual and physical assaults. While new features like Lyft’s Women+ Connect or Uber’s new “emergency button” are meant to address these problems, “the app can only control for so much,” said Tracey E. Vitchers, executive director of It’s On Us, a sexual assault prevention nonprofit. That’s why the problem won’t be solved without investment in changing attitudes and behavior as well.

🚗 DrivHer was born as a solution. When Lais Fortaleza, DrivHer’s CEO and founder, drove for Lyft, she noticed a pattern of relief when she picked up female, BIPOC, and/or LGBTQ+ passengers: “They would come in and say, ‘Oh my God, I was so thankful, so relieved when I saw your picture,’” she said, “and I thought to myself, ‘it shouldn't be a matter of being thankful.’” Fortuleza said safety for all DrivHer riders is her No. 1 priority. She said the main difference between DrivHer and larger rideshare companies is a more stringent hiring process for drivers, plus added comfort in the form of transparent pricing, and free snacks and drinks.

🚺 But make no mistake, DrivHer isn’t exclusive. In fact, if it were to offer its services solely to women (as some local companies have tried in the past), that probably wouldn’t hold up in court, according to Joseph L. Sulman, a local employment lawyer. That’s due to laws that say places of public accommodation (including rideshares) generally need to be free and open to customers and employees of all races and genders. But so long as a company is simply marketing their safer services to women, it shouldn’t be a violation of those laws, Sulman said.

👀 Our two cents? The vibes are as advertised. On our ride, the driver went out of her way to create a friendly environment. TBH, we felt considerably more comfortable than in the average Uber or Lyft, and at a similar price point (though it’ll depend on the time of day) — our driver even offered us a free gourmet doughnut. That said, it’s a small company, so booking trips, especially if they’re last minute, will be a much bigger to-do. But for a late night or particularly long drive, we’d wholeheartedly recommend it. 

QUICK QUESTION

🚗 How much do you use Uber and/or Lyft?

CITY

Quick & dirty headlines

🎓 Some Harvard pro-Palestinian protestors won’t get their diploma. Harvard's top governing board rejected a faculty recommendation that would’ve allowed 13 students who were punished for participating in their encampment to graduate today. The students, who are either on probation or suspension, will still be able to participate in the graduation ceremonies but without actually receiving their diploma. In a statement, Harvard cited a handbook policy. The school also faces pressure from “conservative politicians, donors, students, and alumni who support Israel,” according to The Boston Globe.

🚇 Regular MBTA service? I don’t know her. It’s been four years since the MBTA first slashed transit service in response to COVID, but on most buses and subway lines, that service has yet to be fully restored. By now, most subway trains were supposed to be running close to every three to four minutes (which anyone who’s taken the T recently knows that’s far from reality). On the Red Line and D Branch of the Green Line, riders still see 23% to 35% fewer weekday trips. Why? The reasons are varied, from a lack of drivers to a lack of train cars, but one thing is for sure: The bad service is keeping ridership down.

👀 Rumors are swirling about Boston’s next mayoral race. Josh Kraft, son of billionaire Pats owner Robert Kraft, may be coming for Mayor Michelle Wu’s job in 2025. And though Mayor Wu has yet to announce her candidacy for the next election cycle, that hasn’t stopped the rumor mill from churning about Kraft. Despite having been active in Boston’s philanthropy scene as president of the New England Patriots Foundation, the Globe wrote that unseating Wu would be an “uphill battle.”

🎸 The Killers are going for a doubleheader. You might’ve heard that the rock band, responsible for earworms like “Mr. Brightside,” is headlining day three of Boston Calling. But as of Wednesday, they’re also playing a pop-up show at Paradise Rock Club on Saturday night. With a venue capacity of just 993 people, this could be a truly unique — not to mention probably less expensive — opportunity to see the band in a more intimate setting. Tickets are going on sale at 10 a.m. Friday here.

ONE LAST THING

A wicked lahhhge coffee

If you’ve ever finished an XL Dunkin’ coffee and thought “I could go for another” … may we present: The new 40-ounce “wicked lahhhge” tumbler Dunkin’ launched for Memorial Day weekend. 

The tumbler, which is about equivalent to the size of a classic Stanley cup, is 60% larger than Dunkin’s XL size, and, if filled with Dunkin's iced coffee, should equate to about 497 milligrams of caffeine, per Dunkin’s info.

For those of you keeping score, that’s both 97 milligrams over the FDA’s recommendation for a daily dose and 107 milligrams more than an infamous large Panera charged lemonade.

Now, that’s not to say that housing a wicked lahhhge iced coffee would cause you to go into cardiac arrest, but if you get one, just don’t say we didn’t warn you.

— Written by Gia Orsino and Emily Schario

☕ Thanks for reading! IDK how you guys do it. I’m getting shaky by coffee No. 2.

☀️ The results are in: While 49% of B-Side readers are staying home for MDW, most of you who wrote in are hitting the road, with lots of Boston Calling attendees and beachgoers. One reader said they’re: “Hitting the Cape like the basic white b**** that I am.”

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