Key points

• Uber rolled out an option to book a car with children’s seats across Melbourne on Monday.
• The trial is starting with 100 cars with plans to expand the program to 500 cars in Melbourne and if it is successful, roll it out across Australia.
• Uber is also researching the potential for a service for kids, where unaccompanied children could use the rideshare service.

The mum and dad taxi service could be replaced by Uber as the rideshare giant introduces children’s car seats for the first time in Australia.

The option of booking a children’s car seat in an Uber appeared on the app in Melbourne on Monday across 100 cars, with plans to expand the program to 500 cars in Melbourne and if successful, eventually across Australia.

May Ng and her children, Zara, 5, Solomon, 8, and Layla, 2, are keen to use Uber’s car seats.Credit:Jason South

Families with young children have been a missing market segment for the tech giant, which is researching the possibility of a kids service, where unaccompanied children could use an Uber to get to school or elsewhere.

Uber rides with children’s seats are already available in New York and Orlando in the US, as well as in Belgium and Taiwan.

Uber’s Australian boss, Dom Taylor, said the introduction of car seats was “a great day for the parents of Melbourne”.

“If I reflect on my eight years at Uber, without doubt the most requested thing that people have said to me is, ‘When are you going to have a child seat product?’” he said.

Children do not need a car seat to travel in a taxi in Victoria, but must do so when travelling in a rideshare service.

Uber drivers offering car seats have attended a course on installing them with retailer Baby Bunting, and car seats are available for Uber rides booked in advance for an extra $9.99 fee.

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 offered a 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.”

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.

The Morning Edition newsletter is our guide to the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up here.

Most Viewed in National

From our partners

Source: Read Full Article