# Alarming Trend in Unaccompanied Children Using Rideshare



## MHR (Jul 23, 2017)

https://www.click2houston.com/consu...naccompanied-children-using-ride-sharing-apps

_*Alarming trend in unaccompanied children using ride-sharing apps*
*What used to be typical chores for parents now being done by strangers*
TERA ROBERSON
FEBRUARY 9, 2018, 11:09 PM

Picking kids up after school, dropping them off at the movies or the mall -- what used to be typical chores for mom and dad are now being done by total strangers.

"The youngest passenger that I know for a fact, because of a conversation I started up with this young lady, she was 14 years old," said Brandy, an Uber driver who spoke with KPRC 2 anonymously.

She said she's responded to requests for a ride only to discover the person waiting is a child.

"I didn't think anything of it because I assumed that as long as they had an account, everything was verified."

Uber's policy does not allow minors to ride unaccompanied. But in many cases, Brandy said busy parents were the ones arranging the rides for their kids.

"There are many parents that do rely on Uber for their children, be it for functions, extracurricular activities," Brandy said.

In other cases, the kids made the request themselves.

"Some of the kids are setting up their own apps."

Katy mother Michele Piraneo recently discovered her daughter was riding in an Uber with friends -- no adult present.

"Three girls total in the car. Two 13-year-olds and my daughter had just turned 14. One of her friends had a credit card, so this friend apparently had done it before," Piraneo said.

The teens scheduled several rides with several different drivers.

According to Piraneo, the girls went from Katy Mills Mall to Cypress, and from Cypress back to Katy.

"From there, they went to a friend's house, and from a friend's house they Uber'ed to Whataburger, and I think they Uber'ed back to the friend's house," Piraneo said. "So it was about four or five times within a couple of hours."

So just how did the girls get around the rules? Uber driver Brandy said she knows some drivers are willing to break policy for the cash, something she said she is not willing to do.

"Whether it's someone's livelihood or just extra money on the side, we can't take that risk," Brandy said.

Crime Stoppers Executive Director Rania Mankarious said Uber and Lyft do what they can to stop kids from riding by themselves.

"They're in the car with a stranger. They're by themselves. The platforms themselves say, 'Do not put your minors in our cars,'" Mankarious said.

She tells parents the policies are in place for good reason. If there's an accident, the driver can't make decisions about the child's medical care. And even with driver background checks now mandatory, Mankarious warns the safety of your child is in the hands of a stranger you've never met before.

"Once that child shuts that door, that's it. They're at the full mercy of that driver," Mankarious said. "It's dangerous, and we really, really hope that parents will stop doing it."

For Piraneo, the thought of her daughter riding with strangers still doesn't sit well with her.

"My first thought was he could have driven them to a deserted field," Piraneo said.

Uber said its policy is to disable an account if a driver reports a minor is using the app to book rides. Lyft has similar rules prohibiting minors from riding without an adult.

Copyright 2018 by KPRC Click2Houston - All rights reserved._

_© 2017 www.click2houston.com is managed by Graham Digital and published by Graham Media Group, a division of Graham Holdings._


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## ÜberKraut (Jan 12, 2018)

"..._Uber and Lyft do what they can to stop kids from riding by themselves"_

Uber and Lyft screen Pax for age?
That's NEWS to me..
I don't recall seeing them ask for a D-O-B when signing up to ride!
#lipserviceonly


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## heynow321 (Sep 3, 2015)

Lazy worthless parents


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## Ajaywill (Jul 4, 2017)

I need to start a poll.....how many of us grew up hearing..."Don't ever get in a car with a stranger!"?

Now we just punch a button on our phone and call a stranger to come pick up our kids!


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## Rakos (Sep 2, 2014)

Ajaywill said:


> I need to start a poll.....how many of us grew up hearing..."Don't ever get in a car with a stranger!"?
> 
> Now we just punch a button on our phone and call a stranger to come pick up our kids!


EXACTLY...!!!


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## JimKE (Oct 28, 2016)

MHR said:


> _Crime Stoppers Executive Director Rania Mankarious said Uber and Lyft do what they can to stop kids from riding by themselves. _


Uber/Lyft driver JimKE says, _"Crime Stoppers Executive Director Rania Mankarious is a *gullible moron!*" _

Uber and Lyft do NOTHING to prevent unaccompanied minors from riding. They should charge the account holder a $10 cancellation fee for unaccompanied rider cancellations on the first occurrence, and deactivate their account on the second occurrence. Instead they smile all the way to the bank, but they'll deactivate the driver at the first hint of a problem.


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## uberdriverfornow (Jan 10, 2016)

If Lyft and Uber were doing all they can they would be vetting passengers before they take their first ride not just letting any idiot make an account.

And neither company has a dedicated system to expedite reports of underage riders trying to take trips.


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## KD_LA (Aug 16, 2017)

JimKE said:


> Uber/Lyft driver JimKE says, _"Crime Stoppers Executive Director Rania Mankarious is a *gullible moron!*" _
> 
> Uber and Lyft do NOTHING to prevent unaccompanied minors from riding. They should charge the account holder a $10 cancellation fee for unaccompanied rider cancellations on the first occurrence, and deactivate their account on the second occurrence. Instead they smile all the way to the bank, but they'll deactivate the driver at the first hint of a problem.


A $10 cancellation fee won't get anywhere, that's probably what the ride would have cost.

They should charge a large penalty fee, say $200, to get the attention of the parents whose credit card is very likely on the account.


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## uberdriverfornow (Jan 10, 2016)

UberBeamer said:


> The problem is that most of these kids are using their parent's accounts.


Or the parents create an account for them.



UberBeamer said:


> More importantly, why are you not working on your non- spinning airplane retort. The world is anxiously awaiting your wisdom.


If you're saying planes spin then feel free to prove it in the other thread.

You seem to think you're smarter than you are. You don't even know what you are trying to argue.


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## JimKE (Oct 28, 2016)

I had a fun kid the other day. About 10 days ago, I canceled an Uber ride with a kid who used an unusual account name. The ride was from a shopping center, not a school. I canceled him and got the cancellation fee. It was his account, not Mom's, and I reported him to Uber as a fraudulent account. He's 14.

So Friday, I get a Lyft Line request from near a high school, from a rider using the same name...but on Lyft. I accepted the ride, just to see if it was really the same kid. It was. So I told him again that I can't drive a 14 y/o and chatted with him long enough to get a no-show cancellation. In the process, I learned that he had heard nothing from Uber and had used Uber several times since I canceled on him. He just called Lyft because it was cheaper. 

Nice kid, he understood the cancellation, said no problem, somebody will take me. I reported him to Lyft too, but I know they won't do a thing.


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## goneubering (Aug 17, 2017)

KD_LA said:


> A $10 cancellation fee won't get anywhere, that's probably what the ride would have cost.
> 
> They should charge a large penalty fee, say $200, to get the attention of the parents whose credit card is very likely on the account.


A $200 penalty is a GREAT idea!!!!


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## drive4lyft69 (Jan 3, 2018)

ÜberKraut said:


> "..._Uber and Lyft do what they can to stop kids from riding by themselves"_
> 
> Uber and Lyft screen Pax for age?
> That's NEWS to me..
> ...


A DL should be required for passengers as proof of legal age



JimKE said:


> I had a fun kid the other day. About 10 days ago, I canceled an Uber ride with a kid who used an unusual account name. The ride was from a shopping center, not a school. I canceled him and got the cancellation fee. It was his account, not Mom's, and I reported him to Uber as a fraudulent account. He's 14.
> 
> So Friday, I get a Lyft Line request from near a high school, from a rider using the same name...but on Lyft. I accepted the ride, just to see if it was really the same kid. It was. So I told him again that I can't drive a 14 y/o and chatted with him long enough to get a no-show cancellation. In the process, I learned that he had heard nothing from Uber and had used Uber several times since I canceled on him. He just called Lyft because it was cheaper.
> 
> Nice kid, he understood the cancellation, said no problem, somebody will take me. I reported him to Lyft too, but I know they won't do a thing.


We get to be the bad guys......


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## Jedi-Uber (Jun 16, 2018)

Passengers and their parents seem surprised when I mention the policy. Underage passenger are prohibited. I cancel the ride and request the passenger look at their rider agreement. MANY drivers ignore this policy because of streaks and cash incentives. This action makes it hard on legitimate drivers that follow policy. I cancel for very small children always, teenagers and young adults are bit difficult to spot. When is doubt I ask the pax age.


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## Calid (Sep 29, 2020)

.


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## Calid (Sep 29, 2020)

Got an email like this today

So today I got an uber ride, once I get to the pick up location is a mom with her two daughter's
and she asked me if I could drop of her daughters at school, so I explained the mom that I couldn't drive her girls to school without an adult present in the car
to which she insisted that other drivers had done it before, still I refused, so the lady asked her adult cousin to ride with us to which I agreed to her kids to two different schools at two different locations and then I drove her cousin back to the same house I picked the kids up at.

But now I got this Email sent to me and I am very concerned about my driver account.


*How to respond to underage rider requests*
Thank you for driving with Uber.

As part of our commitment to safety, we’d like to take a moment to remind you that, as per Uber’s Community Guidelines, Uber account holders must be at least 18 years old. Anyone under that age must be accompanied on all rides by an adult 18 or older.

We regularly remind riders of these Community Guidelines, but we know that handling requests from underage riders can be difficult when they occur.

If you believe that the person requesting a ride is underage, here’s what you may do:

Request that they provide a valid driver’s license or ID card for confirmation.
Decline the ride request if they cannot prove they’re at least 18 years old. If you decline the request for this reason, please report it through the app so we can follow up with the rider. (Canceling a trip for this reason won’t impact your driver rating.)


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## Stevie The magic Unicorn (Apr 3, 2018)

Ajaywill said:


> I need to start a poll.....how many of us grew up hearing..."Don't ever get in a car with a stranger!"?
> 
> Now we just punch a button on our phone and call a stranger to come pick up our kids!


Back in the 90s...

My parents told me not to talk to people on the internet either.

Now we use the internet to summon a strangers car.


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## REX HAVOC (Jul 4, 2016)

This has been going on ever since Uber begin. I had numerous incidences when I was driving when minor children just jumped in my car. The first time I gave the kid a ride home but after that I started carding anyone that looked under 18. One kid just laughed at me when I told him politely that I'm not allowed to give rides to minors through the UBER platform. He just sat there and wouldn't get out so I yelled at him to "GET OUT OF MY CAR!" and he finally did.


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## REX HAVOC (Jul 4, 2016)

JimKE said:


> I had a fun kid the other day. About 10 days ago, I canceled an Uber ride with a kid who used an unusual account name. The ride was from a shopping center, not a school. I canceled him and got the cancellation fee. It was his account, not Mom's, and I reported him to Uber as a fraudulent account. He's 14.
> 
> So Friday, I get a Lyft Line request from near a high school, from a rider using the same name...but on Lyft. I accepted the ride, just to see if it was really the same kid. It was. So I told him again that I can't drive a 14 y/o and chatted with him long enough to get a no-show cancellation. In the process, I learned that he had heard nothing from Uber and had used Uber several times since I canceled on him. He just called Lyft because it was cheaper.
> 
> Nice kid, he understood the cancellation, said no problem, somebody will take me. I reported him to Lyft too, but I know they won't do a thing.


I imaging that Uber doesn't really care. They don't want to lose their ridership and the income they earn from them but they have to pretend to be following their own guidelines. I bet there a lot of incidents that are flagged by support as an action item and sent up to another level but their support managers don't take any action like cancelling the account of a minor that uses the platform.


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