Technology and Science
Uber launches teen accounts in SA to help parents
Parents can invite their teen to create a specialised Uber account through their family profile
Uber announced the launch of Uber Teen Accounts across South Africa designed to help families on the go.
The e-hailing company said parents and guardians can now invite their teens (aged 13-17) to create a specialised Uber account that will allow them to request their own rides with parental supervision and key safety features built into the experience.
How does it work
Through their Family Profile in the Uber app, a parent or guardian can invite their teen to create an account.
The teen will receive a link to download the app, create their new teen account, and complete the mandatory safety onboarding process. After that, teens can start requesting trips on their own.
Kagiso Khaole, General Manager, Uber Sub-Saharan Africa said teen accounts are built with transparency in mind so that there are no surprises for parents, teens, or drivers.
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“Whether their teen is getting a ride to an internship or heading home after football practice, parents will receive real-time notifications and can follow along with live trip tracking every step of the way. We’re committed to helping keep teens safe and getting families moving.”
Uber said there are a number of safety features embedded into the experiencse.
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Live trip tracking
To help keep parents in the know, they can follow along in the app with real-time updates and live trip tracking whenever their teen requests a ride.
Additionally, for teen trips, parents will receive the driver’s name, vehicle information, and requested drop-off location so they know exactly where their teen is going and who is behind the wheel.
PIN Verification
Before a teen gets in the car for a trip, they’ll be prompted to give their driver a unique PIN. Drivers will not be able to start the trip until they enter the correct code into their app, providing an extra layer of protection to ensure teens get into the right car with the right driver.
RideCheck
Sensors and GPS data is used to detect if a ride goes off course, stops unexpectedly, or ends early. 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
Uber’s Audio Recording feature allows users to record audio of their trip directly through the app and saves files on the device, automatically encrypting them so that no one – not the driver, not the rider or parents, and not Uber – can listen back to the recording.
Communication
Parents and guardians will be able to contact their teen’s driver at any time during a trip and only highly rated, experienced drivers who have passed local screening and background check requirements and are highly-rated and experienced will be able to receive trip requests from teen account holders.
Uber said drivers can choose to opt-out of receiving teen trips at any time.
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