We’re not unique in this; it’s an oh-so-tempting option, especially for working parents unable to shuttle teens to every rehearsal and sports practice. Cathie Ericson is a freelance writer based in Portland, Oregon, and mom of three teen boys. Today’s teenagers have more transportation options at their disposal than their predecessors — the millennials, Gen X-ers, and boomers — who previously turned to cars, bikes, or public transit to get around. She raves about HopSkipDrive’s convenience (“I needed it to get to school every day,” she says) and has used the service through her senior year of high school, but her rides with the company were scheduled by her foster mom and social worker. Each rider added to your Family Profile must meet Uber's terms of service. “Tell your teens that when something doesn’t feel right, they should always go with their gut, even if it feels impolite,” Fagell says. The high school senior knew that Uber and Lyft have policies that prohibit minors from riding unaccompanied by an adult — underage riders being a potential liability — but his aunt didn’t seem to care. Still, he’s a stickler for the rules. “There needs to be an option for those older teens who are under this legal age,” she says. Some do anyway, even with parental permission. When the car pulled up, the suspicious driver popped the question: “Are you 18 or older?” Tran, who doesn’t lie about his age, admitted that he wasn’t. But the first time Tran called an Uber home, he made the mistake of marking his pick-up location as his high school. Don't have an account? They don’t even necessarily need to ask for a parent’s credit card: Uber and Lyft allow users to pay with PayPal (linked to a bank account) or a prepaid gift card, and Uber offers a family profile option that links multiple accounts to one default payment option. I am a father of two. O’Bryan doesn’t take any chances because “all the liability sits on me while a minor’s in my vehicle.” The liability ultimately rests on drivers who are, after all, independent contractors: They have to ask for the passenger’s identification, they’re the ones tasked with reporting riders who violate the terms of service, and they have to remain vigilant. She had a packed schedule of classes and extracurricular activities that could last until 6:50 pm. Uber is launching a new teen ride program for parents tired of playing bus driver. It was simple: They don’t ask, and he doesn’t tell. Parents are even sending Ubers to pick up their kids and taxi them around. And with a recent CNN investigation reporting more than 100 incidents of sexual assault by Uber and Lyft drivers over the last four years, safety considerations are no small matter. No way. If he appeared mature and of age, drivers didn’t seem to notice or care, Tran says. Wright considered using HopSkipDrive to get her 11-year-old son to school while she was away on work trips, but after attempting to schedule his first ride, she didn’t feel fully confident in the service. And by the looks of it, kids — at the peak of their teenage defiance — aren’t going to stop unless harsher age-certifying restrictions are put in place. “Whenever I need to get somewhere and if I’m running low on time, I just think to get myself an Uber,” the 18-year-old says. The family profile allows you to connect up to five people to your Uber account, meaning they can request rides using your payment methods, with records being kept on … Uber began testing teen accounts last month in Seattle, Phoenix and Columbus. The Uber family profile . Soon, a number of kid-friendly startups (the likes of Zum, Zemcar, and Kango) started trickling into that niche, eyeing urban and suburban areas where working families would need their services. Sen. Josh Hawley says he will "never apologize" for objecting to Biden electors. We apologize for any inconvenience this causes. The other is to actually use the service. Richard Tran lives with his aunt a mile and a half away from his high school in the suburbs of Orange County, California. Driver supply increases and decreases with your needs; you’ll never pay for unfilled rides or a vehicle that sits empty. They justify the risk for the convenience ride-sharing services provides them; sometimes it feels safer to call a ride home instead of walking from school in the dark. Make travel easier for you, your partner, your kids, grandparents and anyone else with the Uber family profile. According to Lyft, drivers’ ratings will not be negatively impacted if they refuse to drive a minor and cancel the ride. “There’s an equal amount of bad and good drivers,” O’Bryan says. 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