- Dedicated product for teens aged between 13 and 17 years now available across 37 cities
- A key feature of ‘Uber for Teens’ is that it allows parents to have oversight on the rides their children book, says the company
- 93% of the parents said they were likely to use a safe and reliable ridesharing option, if it was available, of whom 64% said they would use such a product regularly
NE BUSINESS BUREAU
AHMEDABAD, APR 2
Ride-hailing major Uber on Wednesday announced the launch of a new service called ‘Uber for Teens’ in India, which, the company claimed, is designed to offer safe and reliable transportation options for teenagers aged 13 to 17 years in the country.
Uber for Teens has been launched across 37 cities in the country, including Delhi NCR, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune, Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Kochi, Chandigarh, Lucknow, and Bhubaneswar.
Uber for Teens aims to offer peace of mind to parents around the country while also offering their wards greater independence. The product is built around a framework of stringent safety protocols that includes GPS tracking, real-time ride tracking, and an in-app emergency button.
The product has been built allowing parental supervision over the rides their teens book, adding another layer of safety and assurance for the guardians. Parents can set up a Teens account, which allows them to request rides on behalf of their teens, track their rides in real-time, and receive detailed ride summaries.
Speaking about the latest offering, Prabhjeet Singh, President, Uber India and South Asia said, “We recognize the unique transportation challenges faced by teenagers and their families in India. With Uber for Teens, we are committed to addressing these challenges by providing a service that parents can trust, and that teens will find easy and cool to use.”
As per a consumer survey rolled out by Uber to understand the travel needs of teenagers and preferences of parents for their teenage children – an overwhelming 92% of surveyed parents said they faced instances where their teens could not travel for activities because of a lack of reliable transportation options. 72% of those surveyed indicated that safety was their primary concern when looking for transportation options for their teens.
In terms of use cases, 63% of surveyed parents said they needed to use their own car to transport their teens to and from sports and extracurricular activities after school, while 61% of them said they needed to do the same for their teen’s after-school coaching classes. When asked if they felt a dedicated ridesharing product for their teens, 93% of them said they were likely to use a safe and reliable ridesharing option, if it was available, of whom 64% said they would use such a product regularly.
How to book an Uber for Teens ride
- Parents/guardians with a verified Uber account can invite their teen to join the app
- The teen will need to setup their account, adding their parents as a guardian
- The teen can start requesting trips immediately after the account setup
- Parents/guardians will receive notifications about trips on their app as well
- Guardians also have the option to request rides on behalf of their teens which reflects on the teen’s account
