Uber for Teens service has started rolling out in India. The San Francisco-based transportation tech platform first launched the safety service for teenagers in 2023 in the US, and has so far expanded it to more than 50 countries. The feature lets parents and guardians set up an Uber account for their teenagers of ages between 13 and 17 so that they can book a ride using their devices. The service also allows parents and guardians to monitor the rides and let them control the number of trips a teenager can book.
Uber for Teens Rolling Out in India
Gadgets 360 staff members were able to spot the Uber for Teens service in the ride-hailing app on Monday. It shows up on the account page in the Uber app. Parents and guardians can use it to invite their teenagers and let them access the app on their devices.
According to a TechCrunch report, the company has begun piloting the service in India and has made it live in Bengaluru, Delhi NCR, and Mumbai. The company told the publication that Uber for Teens will be expanded to 35 cities in the coming weeks, including Ahmedabad, Chennai, Hyderabad, and more.
The service lets users invite their teenager by adding their contact details. Once the teenager accepts the invite, a teen account will be set up for them. These teenager-focused accounts get additional safety features and monitoring control for the parents and guardians.
Uber for Teens will let both guardians as well as the teenager book rides. Guardians in India will have to add a credit or debit card to their account before they can invite a teenager to their family account. However, once added, the teenager is free to choose any payment method they prefer. Uber also lets them set the number of monthly trips a teenager can book.
In a support page, Uber states that teenagers are always matched with highly rated and experienced drivers who have undergone background checks. Guardians will be able to follow and track their teenagers’ location once a ride has started. They can also get audio recordings of the interaction between the driver and the teenager, as long as it has occurred via an Uber call.
Teen trips are destination-locked and cannot be changed by the drivers. Additionally, these accounts contain several permanently enabled safety features such as PIN verification and RideCheck.
In its financial report for the fourth quarter of 2024, the company stated that Uber for Teens is currently available in nearly 50 countries. It was first launched in 2023 in the US.
