The ride-sharing company announced a new feature this week that allows families to link multiple accounts together in a centralized account. In select cities across the United States and Canada, the Family profile will also allow parents to invite their teens (ages 13–17) to create their own account, so they can request their own rides and order their own meals.
Teen accounts will launch in over a dozen U.S. cities today, including:
Teen accounts incorporate various safety measures that Uber has developed over the past five years. For instance, only highly rated, experienced drivers will be allowed to accept ride requests from teens. Parents will also have the ability to track their child's trip progress in real time and receive information about the driver. They can contact the driver during the trip, reach out to Uber’s support team, and report any issues on behalf of their teen.
This feature will also be extended to Uber Eats, enabling teens to order food directly while allowing parents to monitor their children's food delivery orders — so you no longer have to go back and forth with your kids over what condiments they want on their burgers.
This could be a good way to help your teenager to develop a skill they’ll need to have as an adult: ordering a ride-share service. And it’s a helpful option to have in case your kid is ever in a jam and needs a ride (or a meal) ASAP.
But like all technology advancements, whether this makes sense for your family to use depends on the age and maturity of your teenager, where you live, your schedule, and your finances. If you decide to move ahead with a teen account, you’ll likely want to do a test ride or two with your teen first and establish some guidelines before giving them the go-ahead to start using this.
These guidelines should include agreement on when and how often it’s acceptable for your child to call for a ride, what communication you require before and after the trip, and how they get approval before ordering a meal with your payment information.
