Uber has launched a new service in India that allows teenagers aged 13 to 17 to book rides independently, provided their parents or guardians approve.
Per TechCrunch, the ride-hailing company confirmed that the pilot phase of the service, called Uber for Teens, is currently live in Bengaluru, Delhi NCR, and Mumbai, with plans to expand to 35 cities, including Chennai, Hyderabad, and Pune, in the coming weeks.
The service enables parents to create a profile for their teenagers under their Uber family account, giving them the ability to track rides in real-time and set monthly trip limits.
Again, parents can book rides on behalf of their teens if necessary. Uber has also introduced safety measures such as an opt-in audio recording feature and additional background checks for drivers handling teen rides.
To activate a teen account, a guardian must add a credit or debit card to their family profile. Once the account is set up, both parents and teens can choose any available payment method, including cash.
However, another aspect of the service is that teenagers are permitted to bring along other riders within the same age group (13-17), although it remains unclear how consent for such trips will be managed.
“As the world continues to grow and change, our commitment to providing a safe experience for drivers and riders will always be a priority,” Uber stated. “This is especially true with the introduction of rides for teens.”
The company emphasised that teen accounts are the only authorised way for individuals under 18 to use the Uber platform with parental consent.
Before booking their first ride, teen users must complete a safety onboarding process to familiarise themselves with Uber’s security features, including PIN verification and RideCheck.
Parents will also receive guidance on how to prepare their teenagers for using the service. In addition to live trip tracking, guardians will receive real-time updates on their teen’s ride and have the ability to contact the driver during the journey.
Drivers will be able to identify teen rides through a special label on the trip request. If a driver suspects a passenger is underage and their request is not marked as a teen trip, they can decline the ride and report it as an unaccompanied minor case. Drivers who prefer not to accept teen ride requests can opt-out through their app settings.
Uber initially launched Uber for Teens in the U.S. and Canada nearly two years ago and has since expanded it to about 50 countries.
The company continues to introduce new features in India, such as concurrent ride bookings and prepaid item pickups, as it competes with local rivals Ola, Rapido, Namma Yatri, and BluSmart.
