Last Updated on September 8, 2023
Big news coming from Uber!
We all use it when we travel, and now, so can our teens. Which is why life is about to get a whole lot easier for parents (and grandparents).
As I was driving my teen granddaughter to school this morning, I asked if she would be comfortable using Uber Teen to which she replied, “if it gets me to where I need to go, then sure, I’m in.” On that note, her parents say they would be comfortable with using the service as well.
Uber, the popular ride-sharing service, is expanding its teen accounts to 49 states so that teens (ages 13-17) can create their own accounts to request rides and order food with parental permission.
Teens have returned to school and their extracurricular activities can create a transportation burden for families, especially those with two full-time workers or without access to a car. Enter Uber, which can help alleviate some of the stress and worry these parents are dealing with.
According to Uber, a recent YouGov study revealed the following transportation trend issues:
Career vs. carpool sacrifice: 2 out of 3 working parents say they have had to make sacrifices in their career to drive their teens around. Half of parents say they have had to choose between driving their teens around and their own job commitments.
Transport to extracurriculars: Nearly 40% of teens have had to miss an activity due to transportation problems.
Growing and on-the-going: Giving their teen independence is important to nearly 90% of parents.
After the initial launch of the Uber-teen account program earlier this year in select markets, statistics showed that the average teen account holder takes more trips per month than the average adult rider.
How does the program work?
To make teen transportation easier while also prioritizing parental peace of mind, Uber built teen accounts with personal safety and parental supervision at the heart of the experience. Parents have full control of the account, are notified of every trip request and food order placed by their teen, and can monitor their teen’s trips and deliveries in real time in their own phone app.
Because parents shouldn’t have to choose between running an important meeting and running their teens to practice, Uber’s teen accounts allow families added flexibility without compromising on safety.
Safety of Uber Teen Accounts
Uber Teen Accounts will now be available in 49 states, with safety feature automatically built into the experience, including:
PIN verification
RideCheck
Access to Uber’s Safety Line and privacy-preserving audio recording
A teen-friendly view so only age-appropriate items are displayed on Uber Eats
Stats on Uber Teen Accounts To-Date
So far, tens of thousands of parents and teens have signed up for a Teen Account when the program was launched in select urban cities in May, 2023.
The busiest time for teens requesting trips is in the afternoon when parents may still be at work and teens need to get to their after-school extracurricular activities.
Teens are using the account on a regular basis. In addition, the average teen account holder takes more trips per month than the average adult rider.
Drivers are rating Teen Account holders ‘5 stars’ more often than adult riders.
