Mississippi communities from the Gulf Coast all the way up to the northern portion of the state are now offering services from transportation giant Uber intended to give parents assurance that their child will have a safe commute.
In May, Uber announced a new feature that allows teens between the age of 13-17 to be transported by a driver without a parent or guardian present.
Parents and guardians now have the ability to create a specialized account through their Uber family profile that grants teens permission to order a ride on their own while giving parents and guardians the peace of mind of knowing the child will be in good hands.
“By providing parents with safe alternatives to help their teens get around, we hope this will help create more equitable solutions for families facing barriers to transportation,” Torine Creppy, president of Safe Kids Worldwide, stated.
This feature helps parents and caretakers move teens safely under supervision with features such as:
- Screened and experienced drivers: Only experienced and highly-rated drivers will be eligible to complete trips with teens. Every driver has the ability to opt out.
- Safety features only on Uber: We’ve designed teen accounts with built-in, privacy-preserving safety features including Verify My Ride, RideCheck, and Audio Recording. Plus, live trip tracking lets a parent follow the trip’s progress so they know exactly where their teen is going and who is behind the wheel.
- Always-on support: Parents can contact the driver directly during a trip, contact Uber’s support team, or report an issue on behalf of their teen.
In addition, teen accounts will also be available on Uber Eats to allow hungry minors to purchase food, with parental permission, of course. Alcoholic beverages and other items teens are not legally eligible to purchase will automatically be filtered out of any menus displayed on the app.
Mississippi cities offering the service:
- Jackson
- Oxford
- Hattiesburg
- Meridian
- Biloxi
- Gulfport
Regions of the state offering the service:
- Golden Triangle
- Mississippi Delta
