Uber has launched a new service for teens so they can ride on their own to give busy parents added flexibility while keeping their child’s safety at the same time.
This service launched in Canada, the US and Latin America and is now coming to Australia with a view to launch in the ACT, Tasmania and South Australia.
The idea behind Uber for teens is to provide another safe transport option for younger teens who need to ride on their own.
The service is open to teens aged between 13 and 17 who can create their own Uber account under their family profile which would give the teen the ability to request rides with their parents’ supervision.
Drivers who have completed hundreds of trips with the highest ratings would be eligible to offer rides for teens.
These drivers would also have passed background checks and must also hold a valid Working With Children Check or Working With Vulnerable Person Registration depending on the state.
Uber for teens was created to help working parents who are facing the same time challenges as other modern families and looking for safe and convenient ways to transport their children.
Ubers research shows that 58 per cent of parents say their work schedule prevents them from driving their teens where they need to go with one in five asking their teens to miss out on those activities because they can’t get them there.
And a lot of parents are feeling the burden with 60 per cent of parents saying they feel pressured to be available to drive their teens to avoid them missing out on those activities.
Uber for teens has been designed naturally with safety in mind.
Uber for teen’s key safety features:
– Screened and experienced drivers: Only experienced, highly rated drivers with consistently positive feedback and a valid Working with Children Check or Working with Vulnerable Person Registration (depending on the state) will be eligible to complete trips with teens. Every driver-partner can opt-out.
– Live trip tracking: Parents/guardians will be automatically notified when their teen requests a trip to reassure them about where their teen is going and who is driving them. The trip can be followed via GPS tracking in real-time, so they can follow along their child’s trip from start to finish.
– PIN Verification: A 4-digit PIN Verification will be required for every teen’s trip to ensure they’re getting into the right vehicle with the right driver-partner.
– Expanded communication: During the trip, parents/guardians can call the driver-partner at any time and contact Uber support.
– Ride Check: Sensors and GPS data are used to detect if the ride goes off course, stops unexpectedly, or ends early. If something like this happens, the Uber app will message the teen and the driver-partner to make sure they’re okay, parents will also receive a notification. RideCheck will be adjusted to be more sensitive during teen trips.
– Audio recording: Once the teen has registered for audio recording through the safety toolkit, audio recording will be automatically enabled for the entire teen trip while keeping privacy protected. To ensure both privacy and safety are protected, the recording will be encrypted and stored on the user’s device and can only be accessed by Uber’s support team if the teen rider or driver-partner reports an incident to Uber and chooses to attach the audio file to the report.
“We’re excited to be introducing young riders to our rideshare services, giving them more independence to make the most out of their favourite activities and avoid missing out on what they enjoy the most,” says Emma Foley, Director of Mobility Operations at Uber ANZ.
“Many of us at Uber are busy parents ourselves so we know all too well how hard it can be to juggle competing priorities.
“We are pleased to be providing Australian families with a solution that has been tried, tested and trusted by many other families around the world, helping alleviate these common pain points with an alternative transport option built with safety in mind.”
How Uber for teens works
Parents can follow these 3 simple steps to get their teen’s account set up:
- Tap Account > Family to create a Family profile.
- Tap Invite Family > Teen > Choose contact and select their name from your contacts. (They must be at least 13 years old.)
- Make sure your payment information is up to date before your teen requests their first ride. You can also set a transportation budget for your teen.
Teens can follow the below steps to set up their account:
- Once the above steps are completed by the parent or guardian, the teen will receive an invitation to download the Uber app.
- Once the teen finishes the setup process, including their safety onboarding, they can begin using their teen account to request their own rides.
