Lyft opens its ride-hailing app to teens

In a significant move, Lyft has introduced teen accounts, enabling individuals as young as 13 to request rides without adult supervision in 200 cities across the United States, including major locations such as Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, and New York. This launch follows an announcement by Lyft CEO David Risher on social media, revealing the company's plan to cater to younger riders. Similar to its competitor Uber, which has offered teen accounts since 2024, Lyft has incorporated several safety measures into its new service. Only parents or guardians are permitted to set up a teen account. Moreover, drivers assigned to these underage passengers must fulfill additional requirements and undergo annual background checks. Teens will also have the option to bring friends along for the ride, provided they have parental permission. To enhance security, Lyft has integrated features such as PIN verification, audio recording, and real-time tracking that allows parents to monitor their child’s journey. To register their teens, parents can access the app, select their profile, and navigate to ‘Lyft Teen,’ where they can input their teen’s contact details and link a shared payment method for rides. Once set up, teens will receive a text containing a unique sign-up link. Lyft's introduction of teen accounts marks its effort to catch up with rivals like Uber and Waymo, which already offer similar services in various regions, including Phoenix's robotaxi service area. Uber initiated trials for teen accounts in 2017, launching a commercial version in spring 2024 across numerous cities in the U.S. and Canada, and has since expanded to several international markets. This new offering is part of a broader strategy under Risher’s leadership, which includes forging partnerships in autonomous vehicle technology with companies such as May Mobility and Mobileye, as well as expanding into Europe through the acquisition of the multi-mobility app Freenow from BMW and Mercedes-Benz Mobility, marking Lyft’s first foray into that market.