Taylor said there were safety and technology issues that needed addressing before the company implemented a kids service,including working with children checks for drivers,ensuring parents could access cameras to see their children using the service,and linking Uber accounts.
“We have a strong belief in the safety of our platform,but there will be even higher expectations when you are carrying children,” he said. “There are lots of nuances that we still need to work through.”
Uber Australia’s Dom Taylor says the introduction of children’s car seats was a great day for parents.Credit:Louise Kennerley
Women-only rideshare service Shebah offereda service for unaccompanied children, which was used by government departments,but the startup struggled to become profitable and went into voluntary administration last year.
Mother of three May Ng,of Newport,was keen to start using children’s car seats in Uber rides.
“It is a bit of a game-changer for families,” she said. “It opens up so many options for where we can go. I would love to take my kids to get their Santa photos done,but I know there’s not much parking for a Kia Carnival at Highpoint.”
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Ng said she would also be interested in an Uber for kids service when her eight-year-old son was older.
“If it is GPS trackable and you could contact the driver at any time,I think that would allay a lot of the worries. I would feel a lot more comfortable with an Uber than letting my kids catch public transport by themselves,” she said.
Hulya Gilbert,a lecturer in community planning and development at La Trobe University,said many parents would be excited about an Uber kids service,but she had concerns.
“Cars limit children’s opportunities to be physically active and to be social and meet with other kids,” she said. “There are so many social benefits of not being driven to places that kids need to go.”
Gilbert said the cost of the kids service would be too high for many families,and it also raised safety issues.
“Stranger danger is a big thing. How can we trust a stranger to do all this driving?” she said.
Caleb Goods,an assistant professor at the University of Western Australia’s business school,said Uber could attract more customers by offering services such as car seats and a potential kids rideshare,as the company pushed towards profitability.
But he said a kids service could be a “legal minefield” compared with the established Uber services of delivering adults and food.
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