Lyft Teen
Teens (13-17 years old) can now request their own rides through Lyft Teen in select regions. These rides come with safety features specifically designed with teens and parents in mind.
Note: Teens can only join Lyft Teen through an invite link from their parent or guardian. If you do not see the option for Lyft Teen, it’s not available in your area.
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How it works
For parents and guardians
Teens can only join Lyft Teen through an invite link from their parent or guardian. Once you set up Lyft Teen on your account, you or your teen can request rides and stay informed every step of the way. When a driver is assigned, you'll receive a text message introducing them with their profile information and an option to contact them directly.
You can track your teen's trip in the app and receive real-time updates throughout the ride. All teen rides include enhanced safety features like PIN Verification, Smart Trip Check-In, and audio recording for added security.
For teens
Teens can only join Lyft Teen through an invite link from their parent or guardian. Once your parent or guardian sets up Lyft Teen and you complete onboarding, you can request rides independently.
You must sit in the back seat and wear a seatbelt during every ride. Guests ages 13+ can ride with you when they have parental permission. Guest riders ages 13-17 must also sit in the back seat and wear a seatbelt during every ride.
You'll be matched with highly rated, experienced drivers who meet strict safety standards and undergo yearly background checks. Female and nonbinary teens have an increased chance of matching with women or nonbinary drivers through Women+ Connect.
What to know about Lyft Teen
- Strict driver standards: Drivers must meet additional criteria for road and in-car safety, along with yearly background checks. Only experienced, highly rated drivers can give teen rides. Women+ Connect is enabled for teen riders, which increases the chances that female and nonbinary teens match with women or nonbinary drivers.
- Visibility every step of the way: Parents and guardians will receive a welcome text message from their teen’s driver introducing themselves. Parents and guardians receive real-time updates and can track trips in the app.
- Teen safety features: All teen rides are equipped with safety features like PIN Verification and Smart Trip Check-In. Once your teen sets it up, they’ll also have audio recording turned on for every ride once enabled.
How to sign up
Teens can only join Lyft Teen through an invite link from their parent or guardian. Follow the steps below to get started.
For safety, parents need to be a Verified Rider to add teens to their family.
Becoming a Verified Rider:
- In the Lyft Rider app, select your profile
- Select on ‘View profile’
- Under account settings tap on ‘Your info’
- Click on ‘Identity’
- Follow the steps required to have your account verified
Once verified, invite a teen to your Family Account:
- At the bottom of the screen in the app, select the ‘You’ tab
- Select ‘Lyft Teen’ and follow the prompts
After the teen receives an invite from a Family Account admin, they will be directed to download the Lyft app and create a Lyft Teen account. Teens must complete a required safety tutorial before hitting the road.
How to request a ride
To request a ride:
- Confirm the pickup address
- Enter the pickup location in the ‘Start’ field and confirm the address
- Enter the drop off location in the ‘Destination’ field and confirm the address
- Choose a ride type and confirm the pickup spot
Requesting rides for teens
If you're a parent or guardian requesting a ride for your teen, select 'Change Rider' and select your teen.
To add a stop during the trip, tap the '+' icon and add another address.
Once matched with a driver, parents/guardians and teens will see the driver’s picture, vehicle information, and estimated time of arrival. Parents or guardians will receive an SMS message with a link to track the trip in the Lyft app.
You can edit ride details (pickup, drop-off, or cancel the ride) by tapping 'Edit ride.' When you request a ride on your teen's behalf, they won't be able to change the ride details. Note: Changes to pickup or drop-off locations may affect the trip cost.
There is also an option to contact the driver before they arrive. Just select ‘Contact driver’ to connect.
If you're a teen requesting your own ride:
Your parent or guardian will receive an SMS message with a link to track your trip in the Lyft app. They'll also get notifications at important ride milestones, so they can follow along from pickup to drop-off.
Once the ride is requested, ride details (pickup, drop-off, or cancellation) can only be changed by your parent or guardian.
How payment works
All Lyft Family accounts share a payment method. Teens can’t add their own payment and will use the Family Account payment for all rides. Card details are not visible to Teens or other members.
Family admins can track payment history in the Lyft Family hub.
To update the shared payment method:
- In the Lyft Rider app, select your profile
- Under ‘Account’, select ‘Family’
- View the ‘Shared payment’ section and follow the prompts to update or share the payment method
Safety features
Teen rides include multiple safety features designed to provide peace of mind for parents and guardians. Once a driver is assigned to the ride, a message will be sent to guardians to introduce the driver with info from their profile.
Safety onboarding tutorial
Provides an overview of all the safety features for Teen rides and is required before a Teen or Parent can request the first ride.
As a part of Lyft’s partnership with ADT, teens can request emergency help through the app by navigating to the Safety tool in-ride panel and selecting 'Get emergency help' to alert ADT. They'll call the teen for more info.
If there is no answer, ADT contacts 911 to provide location details. Teens will be provided with real-time updates in the Lyft app with the status of their emergency request.
Enabled for teen riders to increase the chances that female and nonbinary teens match with women or nonbinary drivers.
A safety feature that automatically shares a four-digit code with the teen at pickup. The teen will share the PIN with the driver, then they’ll enter it into their Lyft Driver app to begin the ride
Teen rides automatically record audio for every ride, right in the Lyft Rider app. Once teens allow microphone access, rides will be automatically recorded for safety. Recordings won’t be shared with parents, guardians, or drivers, but can be shared with Lyft if needed.
Monitors rides for unusual activity, like long stops or route deviations. If we notice anything off about your ride, we’ll contact your teen to see if they need help.