Uber’s latest service, Uber Teens Accounts, is now available in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Jordan. This new feature lets teens aged 13 to 17 request their own rides under the supervision of their parents or guardians.
This new service aims to provide families with greater flexibility and ease when managing transportation needs for their teens, while ensuring stringent safety protocols are in place to protect young riders across the four countries.
As such, Uber claims the new service integrates significant safety measures into the system.
Parents or guardians can initiate this process by inviting their teen to join through their existing Family Profile in the Uber app.
Upon acceptance, the teen will be guided to download the app, set up their Teen account, and undergo a mandatory safety onboarding process before they can start booking rides independently.
Pia Tabet, the General Manager for Uber in the UAE, Qatar, and Jordan, expressed enthusiasm about the new feature, stating, “Teen accounts are built with transparency in mind so that there are no surprises for parents, teens, or drivers. Whether it’s a ride to an internship or from football practice, parents will have real-time notifications and live trip tracking capabilities to monitor their teen’s movements for peace of mind.”
The service incorporates several key safety features:
- Live Trip and Delivery Tracking: Parents can follow their teen’s trip in real-time within the app, receiving updates including the driver’s name, vehicle details, and drop-off location.
- PIN Verification: A unique PIN must be provided to the driver by the teen before the trip can start, ensuring the correct match between the driver and the passenger.
- RideCheck: Leveraging GPS and sensor data, this feature detects if a trip deviates from its course, stops unexpectedly, or ends prematurely. Adjusted for increased sensitivity during teen trips, it prompts checks to ensure all is well.
- Audio Recording: Trips can be recorded through the Uber app, with recordings encrypted and stored on the device for added security, inaccessible to anyone else, including Uber.
- Expanded Communication: Parents and guardians have the ability to contact the teen’s driver at any time during the trip.
Furthermore, only highly rated, experienced drivers who have passed local screening and background checks are eligible to accept rides from teen accounts. Drivers also have the option to opt-out of receiving trip requests from teens.
