CLEVELAND — Uber has announced a new feature that will allow teens under 18 to ride on their own in the Cleveland area.
The new product will allow parents and guardians in the Cleveland area to invite their teens (ages 13-17) to create a specialized Uber account that will allow them to request their own rides and order food with parental supervision and added safety features.
“Teen accounts are built with transparency in mind so that there are no surprises for parents, teens, or drivers,” said Mariana Esteves, Product Manager at Uber. “We’re thrilled to offer this innovative feature to families in more cities across the US, with key safety features built into the heart of the experience. Whether their teen is getting a ride to an internship or heading home after soccer practice, parents will receive real-time notifications and can follow along with live trip tracking every step of the way. We’re committed to helping keep teens safe and getting families moving.”
Wondering how you can set up a teen account?
In the Uber app, parents can invite their teens to create an account through their family profile. The teen will receive a link to download the app and create their new teen account. Each teenage user will also have to complete mandatory safety onboarding.
Here is how Uber is making sure safety is embedded into the new experience:
- Live trip and delivery tracking: To help keep parents in the know, they can follow along in the app with real-time updates and live trip and delivery tracking whenever their teen requests a ride or places an order. Additionally, for teen trips parents will receive the driver’s name, vehicle information, and requested drop-off location so they know exactly where their teen is going and who is behind the wheel
- PIN Verification: Before a teen gets in the car for a trip, they’ll be prompted to give their driver a unique PIN. Drivers will not be able to start the trip until they enter the correct code into their app, providing an extra layer of protection to ensure teens get into the right car with the right driver
- RideCheck: We use sensors and GPS data to detect if a ride goes off course, stops unexpectedly, or ends early. If something like this happens, the Uber app will message the teen and the driver to make sure they’re OK. RideCheck will be adjusted to be more sensitive during teens trips
- Audio Recording available on trips: Uber’s Audio Recording feature allows users to record audio of their trip directly through the app and saves files on the device, automatically encrypting them so that no one - not the driver, not the rider or parents, and not Uber - can listen back to the recording
- Expanded communication: Parents and guardians will be able to contact their teen’s driver at any time during a trip, as well as Uber’s safety line.
- Only highly rated, experienced drivers and couriers: Only drivers and couriers who have passed local screening and background check requirements and are highly-rated and experienced will be able to receive trip and delivery requests from teen account holders. Drivers can choose to opt-out of receiving teen trips at any time
- Teen-friendly Uber Eats: Teen accounts will have a teen-friendly view on the Uber Eats app so that items teens are not old enough to buy are filtered out. In addition, parents will be able to see every item in their teen’s Eats order
Uber says that they will be offering 40% off teen riders' first three trips during their first month on the platform. The promotion will be available in the Uber app until Jan. 14, 2024.
