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SALT LAKE CITY — Ride-hailing and food delivery giant Uber announced a new program Wednesday that will begin allowing customers 13-17 years old to book solo rides, as well as order food through its popular Uber Eats platform.
The new options for underage users represent a policy shift for Uber that previously required ride-hailing customers under age 18 to be accompanied by an adult and limited delivery accounts to those 18 and over.
Uber's family profiles program will launch on May 22 in almost two dozen cities in the U.S. and Canada, including New York City, Atlanta, Dallas and Houston. Salt Lake City isn't on the list. Uber says the service will become available in additional areas in the coming weeks and months, but didn't provide specifics.
Uber says a parent or guardian can set up a centralized family profile account that allows them to list minors within the age window who can book rides or order food with automatic notices sent to designated adult users in the group.
The company also shared a set of safety features that are part of the new program. These include a system that issues a unique PIN to teen riders that ensure they're connecting with the right driver and an in-app feature that enables an audio recording during the ride. Uber says parents can also track children riders via another in-app feature and will also be provided with vehicle and driver information they can use to contact those driving their children directly. In a press release, Uber said "only experienced and highly-rated drivers will be eligible to complete trips with teens."
Uber said it worked with Safe Kids Worldwide, a nonprofit focused on preventing childhood injuries, to develop its teen accounts.
"As part of our work, we were able to provide advice and expertise to Uber to help ensure teens have a safe experience from pickup to drop off," said Torine Creppy, president of Safe Kids Worldwide, in a statement to CNET. "By providing parents with safe alternatives to help their teens get around, we hope this will help create more equitable solutions for families facing barriers to transportation."
While Uber's policy change now lifts restrictions on teenage riders, as long as they're part of an adult-led family plan, it may come as no surprise that the age group has been gaming the system for years.
A 2019 report from Vox cited credit card data showing Uber and its ride-hailing competitor Lyft accounted for 94% of all taxi service transactions for customers age 13 to 18 from one three-month calendar period. Combined, these companies are the second-most popular merchant behind Apple when it comes to teen spending.
