Uber Pilots Accounts For Teenagers In India

Ride-hailing giant Uber is piloting its ‘Uber for teens’ service in India, which allows those in the 13-17 years age to create accounts on the app to book rides.

The service is currently being piloted in Delhi NCR, Bengaluru and Mumbai. The company plans to expand it to 35 more cities in the country, including Ahmedabad, Chennai, Hyderabad and Pune, Uber told Inc42 in a statement.

The development was first reported by TechCrunch.

Earlier, individuals under the age of 18 years could not set up accounts on the ride-hailing app. With ‘Uber for teens’, parents or guardians can set up accounts for teenagers by providing their debit or credit card details and add them to their family profile. After this, parents and teenagers can book rides through the app.

Guardians will receive a notification each time their teen requests a ride and they can monitor the ride with live trip tracking.

Moreover, highly rated drivers will be assigned to teenage commuters to ensure safety and a smooth ride experience. The company claimed that it will have thorough background checks and “rescreen drivers” every year to ensure safety of the riders.

Additionally, teenage riders will be secured with the provided safety features like PIN verification and RideCheck, which cannot be turned off even if the teenager wants to.

Teenage riders can also bring other individuals along with them aged between 13 to 17 years, given that they also have consent from their guardians.

As the teenagers with accounts on the app turn 18, they will have access to all services on their devices.

The launch comes weeks after the Dara Khosrowshahi-led company rolled out its software-as-a-service (SaaS)-based zero commission model for auto drivers across India. Following the footsteps of its rival Rapido, the company now only acts as a technology platform to connect riders with auto drivers while they can also negotiate the fare prices.

India is one of the largest and fast-growing markets for Uber. The company, which competes with Ola, Rapido, BluSmart, Namma Yatri, among others, has launched a number of new initiatives in recent times amid rising competition.

In November last year, it launched its ‘Uber One’ membership programme that allows users to earn credits of up to 10% on two-wheeler, three-wheeler and four-wheeler rides.

A month later, the ride hailing app came up with women-only bike rides in Bengaluru to ensure safer and more convenient ride options for women.