Uber is expanding Uber for teens to New South Wales, Victoria, the Northern Territories, and Western Australia, following a successful launch in the Australian Capital Territory, South Australia, Tasmania and Queensland. Uber for teens allows teens aged between 13-17 years old to ride independently, while giving parents and guardians full visibility and control – making every day family logistics a little easier. 

For busy Aussie families juggling school runs, sports practices and social events, Uber for teens offers a safe and flexible way to help teens get to where they need to be, without putting more pressure on already packed schedules.

Since its initial launch in April 2024, Uber for teens has helped Aussie teens get from A to Z – with top destinations for teens including schools, fast food restaurants, sports facilities, medical/dental clinics and more. Uber for teens is most utilised by Aussie families during after school hours between 2-6pm, supporting parents in getting teens to and from after-school activities.

Starting Friday 29 August, parents and guardians can invite their teens to create an Uber account under their Family From profile, enabling teens to request their own rides with real-time supervision from their parent or guardian. 

New safety feature and Uber One membership sharing for the modern family on the go

As part of this expansion, Uber is launching three-way chat – a new in-app safety feature that creates a shared communication channel between the parent/guardian, the teen rider and the driver. It allows families to coordinate pickups, send instructions and stay connected throughout the trip without needing to pick up the phone. It adds an extra level of transparency and oversight, giving parents greater peace of mind. 

In addition to enhanced communication, teens now have access to more ride options. Previously limited to Uber X, teens can now also choose Uber Comfort and UberXL*- offering extra space and flexibility for trips that involve sports gear, musical instruments and more. 

For families who already enjoy the benefit of Uber One, it’s now being extended to teen accounts nationwide. If a parent or guardian is an Uber One member, linked teen profiles within their Family account will receive the same perks – including $0 Delivery Fee, up to 30% off Service Fee on eligible Uber Eats orders, and earn 5% Uber One credits on eligible rides, and other exclusive offers. This is all part of Uber’s commitment to making life easier, safer, and more rewarding for families on the move. 

Emma Foley, Managing Director, Uber Australia & New Zealand, said: “We know that modern family life is a constant balancing act, from early morning school runs to after-school activities and everything in between. That’s why we are excited to be expanding Uber for teens to New South Wales, Victoria, the Northern Territory, and Western Australia, giving more families access to a safe and reliable way to help lighten the load.

For parents, nothing is more important than knowing their teen is in safe hands. Uber for teens is designed with built-in safety features and real-time updates. Today we are also launching a three-way intercom feature for teen accounts, a shared communication space between the parent, teen, and driver, so parents can stay connected and teens can enjoy a little more independence with confidence.”

At Uber, we believe everyone should have easy access to safe transportation, regardless of age or tech confidence. This is why we’ve built inclusive products that meet the needs of every rider, including Uber for teens, senior accounts and Simple mode, and Caregiver – each with features designed to make the experience safer, easier, and more user friendly.

Uber for teens is now available in New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, the Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory. Eats for teens is available nationwide.

How Uber for teens works

Parents can follow these 3 simple steps to get their teen’s account set up:

  1. Tap Account > Family to create a Family profile. 
  2. Tap Invite Family > Teen > Choose contact and select their name from your contacts. (They must be at least 13 years old.)
  3. Make sure your payment information is up to date before your teen requests their first ride. You can also set a transportation budget for your teen. 

Teens can follow the below steps to set up their account:

  1. Once the above steps are completed by the parent or guardian, the teen will receive an invitation to download the Uber app.
  2. Once the teen finishes the setup process, including their safety onboarding, they can begin using their teen account to request their own rides.

Key Safety Features

Uber for teens trips are designed with safety and transparency at the core. Safety features are automatically enabled for all Uber for teens trips and can’t be turned off by the teen, driver partner, or parent/guardian. These include:

  • Screened and experienced drivers: Only experienced, highly-rated drivers with  a valid Working with Children Check or Working with Vulnerable Person Registration (depending on the state**) will be eligible to receive teens trip requests. Every driver-partner has the ability to opt-out.
  • NEW Three-way chat: A three-way chat feature within the rideshare experience to facilitate seamless, transparent, and safe communication between the parent, teen and driver to improve trip coordination, reduce reliance on phone calls, and enhance safety oversight.
  • Live trip tracking: Parents/guardians will be automatically notified when their teen requests a trip to reassure them about where their teen is going and who is behind the wheel. They will also be able to monitor the trip via GPS tracking in real-time, so they can follow along their child’s trip from start to finish, and get progress updates at pick up and drop off.
  • PIN Verification: A 4-digit PIN Verification will be required for every teen’s trip, providing an extra layer of protection to ensure they’re getting into the right vehicle with the right driver-partner. 
  • Expanded communication: During the trip, parents/guardians can call the driver-partner at any time and contact Uber support. 
  • Audio recording***: In NSW, ACT, SA and TAS, once the teen has registered for audio recording through the safety toolkit, audio recording will be automatically enabled for the entire teen trip while keeping privacy protected.
  • RideCheck: Sensors and GPS data are used to detect if the ride goes off course, stops unexpectedly, or ends early. If something like this happens, the Uber app will message the teen and the driver-partner to make sure they’re okay, parents will also receive a notification. RideCheck will be adjusted to be more sensitive during teen trips.

*UberXL is only available in selected cities, including: Adelaide, Canberra, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Cairns, Hobart

**All eligible driver partners have valid Working with Children Checks or Working with Vulnerable People Check in accordance with state laws where we operate. This does not apply to Uber for teens in Queensland where this is not required by state law. Only highly rated, experienced driver partners are eligible to receive trip requests from teens.

***In accordance with state laws where we operate, the audio recording feature is only available in New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory, South Australia and Tasmania.