Lyft launched teen accounts on Monday, a product that allows minors as young as 13 to ride without an adult in 200 US cities, including Atlanta, Boston, Chicago and New York.
The official launch comes two weeks after Lyft CEO David Risher announced in X plans to open the ride-hailing service to teenagers.
Like rival Uber, which also offers teen accounts, the new Lyft service has a number of safeguards in place. Only a parent or guardian can create a teen account, according to Lyft. Drivers who match these minor passengers must meet additional criteria and pass annual background checks. Teens can also bring guests along for the ride if a parent has given permission, according to Lyft.
Lyft has also built in features like PIN verification, audio recording, and real-time tracking to let parents see where their teen is during their ride. Parents who want to sign up their teen can go to the app, select their profile at the bottom right of the screen, then tap “Lyft Teen.” From here, parents can enter the teen’s contact information and add a shared payment method to cover the teen’s rides. Once confirmed, the teen will receive a text message with a unique registration link.
Lyft is playing catch-up with Uber and even Waymo, which offers teen accounts in its Phoenix robotaxi service area. Uber tested teen accounts as early as 2017, but didn’t launch a commercial product until spring 2024 in more than a dozen cities in the US and Canada. Uber has since added several other US markets, as well as dozens of other countries. Last year, Uber started testing teen accounts in several Indian cities, too.
Lyft’s new teen account is one of numerous new products and expansions Risher has introduced to the company since taking over as CEO. Lyft has made a handful of self-driving vehicle partnerships, including with May Mobility, Austrian manufacturer Benteler and Holon, Tensor Auto and autonomy provider Mobileye.
The company has also pushed into Europe with its $197 million acquisition of German mobility app Freenow from BMW and Mercedes-Benz Mobility. The acquisition opened the European market to Lyft for the first time.
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