Uber for teens? Or where to hire an afternoon driver?

[Anonymous]

My kids' extracurriculars are getting crazy, and as it turns out I need to be in White Oak and Bethesda at the same time a couple of days a week.



How can I get my kids from points A to B? Uber? Hire a babysitter-with-car?

Any insight would be greatly appreciated. In particular, would love to hear ideas about where to find a safe / qualified driver... Care.com? And would love to hear from folks whose kids Uber around the suburbs...

Thank in advance, y'all.

[Anonymous]

Cut back on the craziness.

[Anonymous]

Ignore the above poster, they probably have small kids. Sometimes it's hard to connect with a circumstance you can't relate to.

I have a teen and a tween with very busy schedules. My husband and me both work full time out of the home. Our kids have to uber from time to time when our schedules all conflict. We don't live near the train so they have to bus after the train to get home. We aren't in the suburbs, we live in DC. Our kids usually metro but there are times where I'm not comfortable with them doing so, so they uber. No complaints, no issues.

[Anonymous]

Carpool

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ignore the above poster, they probably have small kids. Sometimes it's hard to connect with a circumstance you can't relate to.

I have a teen and a tween with very busy schedules. My husband and me both work full time out of the home. Our kids have to uber from time to time when our schedules all conflict. We don't live near the train so they have to bus after the train to get home. We aren't in the suburbs, we live in DC. Our kids usually metro but there are times where I'm not comfortable with them doing so, so they uber. No complaints, no issues.

It sounds like they are the parents and you are the kids

[Anonymous]

We started letting our 15YO son take uber this year for his sports practices that are pretty far away and start during rush hour. I had a teenage driver that I was paying $20/hour to shuttle him around but it got pretty expensive and she left for college. Uber has been a real help so far, and eases up our schedule.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ignore the above poster, they probably have small kids. Sometimes it's hard to connect with a circumstance you can't relate to.

I have a teen and a tween with very busy schedules. My husband and me both work full time out of the home. Our kids have to uber from time to time when our schedules all conflict. We don't live near the train so they have to bus after the train to get home. We aren't in the suburbs, we live in DC. Our kids usually metro but there are times where I'm not comfortable with them doing so, so they uber. No complaints, no issues.

It sounds like they are the parents and you are the kids

No idea what you are talking about.

[Anonymous]

+1

OP here. Also, single mom and small business owner, just doing what everyone else does, which is trying to make it all work. Carpools aren't an option here, I'm afraid, and while I could always pull my kids from these particular extracurriculars, I'd like them to be able to participate, so I'm looking for reasonable solutions.

Thanks to those who have shared their insight and experiences.

[Anonymous]

Quit your job and find out how to bring Zemcar into the DC market: https://www.zemcar.com/index. This is such a perfect business idea and we need it here. Until then, sounds like you do need Uber to get you through this patch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Quit your job and find out how to bring Zemcar into the DC market: https://www.zemcar.com/index. This is such a perfect business idea and we need it here. Until then, sounds like you do need Uber to get you through this patch.

Seriously!

Or move to the West Coast. Seems like they've got a number of such services out in Seattle, LA, and the Bay Area.

Come to DC, car services! If Whole Foods and TJs can take the east coast by storm, why not Zum or Hop Skip Jump??

[Anonymous]

Uber and Lyft are fine for kids 15+. We use them a lot. I like the fact that with the family setting, I can see exactly where they are, all the info on the driver, etc.

[Anonymous]

I thought I was close to allowing uber for my 15yo. But last week a friend's young adult daughter had a very troubling experience. The driver insisted she sist in the front, said he wouldn't charge her, and kissed her right off the bat with no warning or explanation. She shrunk away and phoned a male friend and told him what was happening to pass the time on the short drive. The driver said hey, he would not have done that if he had known she had a boyfriend (like that matters). He delivered her to her destination and offered to drive her home later. She said no but he texted her at 4:00am (he had her cell number bc there was a snafu in the original booking or something) asking where she was and if she needed a ride. She was afraid to go back to the house where he had picked her up. He probably was lurking there at 4:00am. I would go with Red Top or some other reputable cab company instead.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I thought I was close to allowing uber for my 15yo. But last week a friend's young adult daughter had a very troubling experience. The driver insisted she sist in the front, said he wouldn't charge her, and kissed her right off the bat with no warning or explanation. She shrunk away and phoned a male friend and told him what was happening to pass the time on the short drive. The driver said hey, he would not have done that if he had known she had a boyfriend (like that matters). He delivered her to her destination and offered to drive her home later. She said no but he texted her at 4:00am (he had her cell number bc there was a snafu in the original booking or something) asking where she was and if she needed a ride. She was afraid to go back to the house where he had picked her up. He probably was lurking there at 4:00am. I would go with Red Top or some other reputable cab company instead.

Ma reputable cab company won't take kids or teens.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Uber and Lyft are fine for kids 15+. We use them a lot. I like the fact that with the family setting, I can see exactly where they are, all the info on the driver, etc.

You know that Uber and Lyft left Austin b/c they register to do fingerprint background checks, so you really don't have any info on the driver just whatever he submitted

And you don't know exactly where your kids are; you know where their phone is. That could be quite different.

[Anonymous]

I've sent an Uber for my 15 y/o son before and everything was fine.

I'll admit that I wouldn't send one for my daughter (alone) when she's 15. I would send one for both her if older brother was with her.