Not sure if this is better in GQ or IMHO, so here goes …
My wife and I don’t use Uber or Lyft, but might need a service to pick up one of our kids from school once a week.
a) Can an Uber driver pick up minors? Or is it OK in some states, illegal in others?
b) Can a parent pay an Uber driver remotely? Or would the kid have to possess the credit card so that the transaction could be processed by the driver?
…
Taxis are theoretically available, but out here in the 'burbs they are a PITA to come by. This isn’t really a taxi-served area. Public transit is also not an option. This is one of those areas where without a car, you’re pretty well stuck.
a) I don’t know. Might depend on the age of the kid. 6 year old is kinda young, 17 would be no problem.
b) you don’t need a credit card on your person. Just the app on your phone (connected to a credit card) So, your kid could have the app and do it easily or you could do it on your phone setting the school as the pick up location.
I’ve used Uber a few times; I imagine that Lyft operates similarly. You set up your account with the credit card info that you want to use to pay your drivers; the driver never sees your credit card, and in all of the Uber rides I’ve been on, we’ve never even discussed cost. At the end of the ride, Uber automatically makes a charge against my credit card (including the tip that I choose to add). So, in theory, I believe that the answer to your question #2 is “yes, you can pay remotely, and no, your minor child doesn’t need to have your credit card.”
However, it sounds like the answer to #1 is the dealbreaker. This article (the first one that came up when I googled “Can Uber give rides to minors?”) states:
There was just a piece on Marketplace tonight about services that are specifically built (long interview process, background checks, car inspections, child care experience) for this kind of job. Uber/Lift won’t take unaccompanied minors under 18.
I’ve driven for both Uber and Lyft recently and have picked up many peoples children. I have never heard stories of drivers refusing to pick up. I saw many other drivers picking up and dropping off kids.
I even picked up 4 teen age girls from a catholic high school in uniforms and took them to Starbucks and back. They bought me a latte. That was a strange one.
We have an Uber “Family” account in NYC so my HS age daughters can get a ride in a pinch. One daughter used it once, so it’s not a regular thing. The only hitch was that the driver called me (in my office in NJ) to tell me where he is (on the far west side of Manhattan around the corner from where she was), and I had to relay that information to my daughter. The rendezvous was eventually made, but it was kind of clumsy.
Yup. I found some reddit threads where Lyft drivers discuss the policy. Most say they don’t care about giving kids rides, but some do care (generally out of fear about liability).
So, OP, you do run the risk of having the driver refuse the ride, or even having your account blocked/deactivated (so you can’t just try again with a different driver). Sounds like the alternatives Telemark and araminty linked to articles about would be more reliable. (Here’s one that’s mentioned on Reddit a lot: https://www.hopskipdrive.com/)
Meh. Its not much of a job, people need rides. I’ve taken sick people to the hospital when they should have called an ambulance. Hookers to and from hotel rooms. Company policy is no excuse for being a dick. I’m the one out there on the road taking the risk with my vehicle, I have final say on policy in my car.
It is against the TOS for Uber/Lyft riders to schedule pickups for minors. It is also against the TOS for the driver to transport a minor w/o a legal-aged guardian.
1.a. However, it happens all the time. ALL the time. I’ve done it, both as a rider and driver. Many of the parents at my daughters high school will schedule Ubers to pick up the kids.
The payment is handled via the app - you put your card info in, then call the car. I don’t think it is possible to order an Uber and pay cash.
You might also have school (or other organization) policy to deal with. At a camp I’ve worked at, the policy was that only people authorized to pick up a kid were allowed to do so, the authorized pickups had to be specified by name in advance, and we had to see a photo ID. There’s no way we’d have accepted “Bobby’s authorized pickup is whatever Uber driver happens to be closest”.
Also note that Uber and Lyft are well aware that there drivers are dropping off and picking up kids at school. They know where the drivers are at all of the time, in real time. They could message a driver a reminder not to pick up minors whenever they get a pickup or dropoff at a school. Its not just the drivers looking the other way.
It doesn’t really work that way, though. The only thing Uber really “knows” is who ordered the service and who was assigned to fulfill it - they don’t track who is in the car.
I have done over 3000 rides have have never once picked up a teacher. Not saying it dosen’t happen but odds are if you are picking or dropping off at a school its a student.
My biggest challenge in picking them up is denying request to stop somewhere on the way home. I always deny this. I have even had a parent call and tell me its OK for them to stop off at a store, I still denied them. What if the child did not return?