In a move to support busy Kiwi families getting their children from A to B, Uber has today announced the launch of Uber for teens, allowing teens aged 14-17 to ride independently with their parents’ oversight. 

Following its successful introduction in Canada, the United States, Latin America, and most recently Australia*, Uber is now launching Uber for teens in Aotearoa*. Offering families more transport flexibility, the new teen ride option will allow parents to invite their teens (aged 14-17) to create a specialised Uber account under their family profile, enabling teens to independently book rides while being monitored by their parents in real-time, supported by always-on safety features to ensure parents’ peace of mind.

It comes as new research commissioned by Uber* revealed that almost half (48%) of parents surveyed have had to ask their teen to stop attending regular activities (such as weekend sports) due to transport barriers, with 71 per cent of parents saying that they would be comfortable allowing their child to travel alone with a rideshare if strong safety measures were in place. 

While parents will often go above and beyond for their children, the research shows that many feel ongoing pressure to get kids from A to B, with 41 per cent of parents saying they feel pressured to be available to drive their teens to avoid them missing out, and 30 per cent having to ask their children to miss out on an activity if they are unable to drive them.

Emma Foley, General Manager at Uber New Zealand, said: “It is an exciting time as we introduce teenagers to our rideshare services. We hope that Uber for teens will provide families with more flexibility, while helping grow teenagers’ independence so they can get to their favourite activities and avoid missing out on what they enjoy the most.

“We hope that by introducing this new ride option in New Zealand, we can lift some of the pressures that many parents feel when juggling different priorities. We are pleased to be providing Kiwi families with an option that has been tried, tested and trusted by many other families around the world, helping alleviate these common pain points with an alternative transport option built with safety in mind.”

In bringing Uber for teens to New Zealand, Uber consulted with Nelson-based charity Safeguarding Children, a local organisation specialising in providing training and advice to individuals and organisations on the protection, safety and well-being of all children and young people in their care. As part of Uber’s commitment to child protection and safeguarding, a Child Protection Policy was also developed in consultation with Safeguarding Children as we aim to create a safe and supportive environment for all children who utilise our services. 

Willow Duffy, Chief Executive at Safeguarding Children, said she welcomed the opportunity to guide Uber in ensuring their drivers, young riders and parents all understood their collective responsibility to keep rangatahi safe. 

“Every member of our society plays a vital role in protecting rangatahi. The introduction of Uber for teens provided an opportunity to reinforce this collective duty we all hold to keep children and young people safe. 

“Any organisation working with children must have robust policies and guidelines about how they interact with young people. Our aim is for everyone, regardless of their role in a child’s life, to understand that they’re always in a position to recognise potential risks to children and do something about it.”

Driver-partners who are eligible for Uber for teens trip requests must be highly rated and experienced drivers on the Uber platform. Developed in partnership with Safeguarding Children, Uber also developed an introductory education module on recognising and responding to signs of child abuse and promoting safe interactions with minors, all in the context of providing the Uber service. Driver-partners will also be made aware that a trip is with a teen, and can opt-out receiving teen trip requests at any time.

Auckland father of two Bruce O’Brien, who regularly drives his children between dance classes, football practice and dance competitions, said he and his wife would appreciate the alternative option to get their children from A to B.

“Our eldest child, 14-year-old Tallulah, is already skilled in managing her time and organising rides to and from dance classes. She has a very full schedule and it’s great to know she can get where she needs to be, even if we can’t do it ourselves.

“This new option will be really helpful when my wife and I are juggling our already busy schedules. It would really take the pressure off us, especially during the school holidays,” says O’Brien.

Teen riders and their parents are given access to a wide range of always-on safety features that cannot be turned off by the teen rider, their parent or guardian, or the driver-partner, ensuring a consistently safe and secure ride every time. 

Uber for teens’ key safety features:

  • Live trip tracking: Parents/guardians will be automatically notified when their teen requests a trip and be able to monitor the trip in real time.
  • PIN Verification: PIN Verification will be required for every teens trip. It provides an extra layer of protection to ensure you’re getting into the right vehicle with the right driver. 
  • RideCheck: RideCheck proactively surfaces tools riders and drivers may need when it detects something may have gone wrong, like a possible crash or an unexpected long stop. If something like this happens, the Uber app will message the teen and the driver to make sure they’re OK. RideCheck will be adjusted to be more sensitive during teens trips.
  • Audio recording: Audio recording is also available on all teens trips. Once the teen has registered for audio recording through the safety toolkit, the audio recording feature will be automatically turned on for every trip. To ensure both privacy and safety are protected, the recording will be encrypted and stored on the user’s device. The recording can only be accessed if the rider or driver partner reports an incident to Uber and chooses to attach the audio file to the report.
  • Expanded communication: During the trip, parents/guardians can call the driver partner at any time as well as Uber support.

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 14 years old.)
  3. Make sure your payment information is up to date before your teen requests their first ride.

After that, their teen will receive a text message with an invite and will need to complete a mandatory safety onboarding. Once they’re done, they’ll be ready for their first ride.

*Editors notes:

  • Uber for teens is available in selected states in Australia only: South Australia, Tasmania and ACT
  • Uber for teens will be launching across current Uber locations in Aotearoa, excluding Palmerston North, Napier-Hastings, New Plymouth, and Nelson.
  • The research was conducted by Censuswide, among a sample of 1,000 New Zealanders (who have at least one child aged 14-17) who own a car and currently transport their (pre) teen. The data was collected between 10th April and 26th April.