Uber for teens now available in Vancouver

Starting Tuesday, teens in Metro Vancouver can ride in an Uber without an adult present.

The ride-sharing giant now allows minors between 13 and 17 years old to use their parent or guardian's account to book trips in a number of Canadian cities.

The company says there are a number of safety features in place for these trips, including that the driver must have a top rating and agree to an audio recording of the ride. Verification using a PIN will also be required to ensure the teen is getting into the right car and any abrupt changes or endings to a trip will trigger a notification to both the passenger and the driver.

Despite safety measures, father of two Harold Schellekens doesn’t believe Uber is the best option for his 15 and 16-year-old daughters.

"I know that Uber is still vetting the drivers, but it's still an app. So how much of the decision is the app making versus my own judgement?" Schellekens said.

“My main concern is that the person is alone in a car with an adult we don’t know.”

Michael van Hemmen is the general manager of Uber and lives in the Tri-cities. He said he and his wife share a vehicle and he can see examples from his own life in which this service will be useful.

“Many times, having three kids, my wife is out driving around to their activities and I’ve had to take an Uber to go pick my son up and then take that same Uber back,” he says. “Now I can say, ‘Hey son, you can take an Uber home’.’

In case of an emergency, parents and guardians will be able to call 911 directly from the app's trip tracker screen.

“Every family will have to make a decision about what they’re comfortable with.”

Jesse Miller, a social media educator and founder of MediatedReality.com, says parents or guardians should be familiar with the app and the experience of taking an Uber before signing up their kids.

“Before you child operates in this space, you do need to have examples given or even take a couple rides with them and even explain how the app works and what apps should be open while they’re in the service of an Uber,” he says.

Additionally, he says the company does vet drivers and that B.C. requires them to have a Class 4 licence.

"To know that Uber drivers go through similar training that taxi drivers go through, should give people in the province some solace to understand (that there is) another layer oversight,” said Miller.

While Uber recently got approval to operate outside of Metro Vancouver, the option for teens is not available elsewhere in B.C.