Uber Technologies, the ride-hailing firm, upped its game on Thursday with an announcement of the launch of Uber Teen Accounts, designed to help families on the go and up the ante on safety.

South Africa has the highest crime index in Africa and ranks as the fifth most dangerous country globally.

Parents and guardians can now invite their teens (aged 13-17) to create a specialised Uber account, which will allow teens to request their own rides, with built-in parental supervision and key safety features.

Kagiso Khaole, general manager, Uber Sub-Saharan Africa. Photo: Supplied

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, the general manager for Uber in Sub-Saharan Africa, said: “We’re thrilled to offer this innovative feature to families in South Africa, with key safety features built into the heart of the experience. 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.”

In February, Uber reported its first annual operating profit since its initial pubic offering five years ago. In the final quarter of the year, its revenue rose 15%to $9.9 billion (R185bn).

How safety is embedded into the family experience:

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: We use sensors and GPS data 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 available on trips: 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.

Expanded communication: Parents and guardians will be able to contact their teen’s driver at any time during a trip.

Only highly rated, experienced drivers: Only 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. Drivers can choose to opt-out of receiving teen trips at any time.

Uber says the Teen Accounts will be available across South Africa.

“As part of its ongoing commitment to safety, Uber has announced the launch of Rider Verification, which evaluates details such as expiry date, uniqueness of ID number on Uber’s system for riders’ identification documents. The feature is designed to promote vigilance and accountability for both riders and drivers on trips,” it said in a statement on Thursday.

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