[quote]By Drew Danko
Online Editor
Photo by Jack Heerhold[/quote]

Transportation giant Uber had much more to celebrate as the ball dropped into 2016, as it provided its billionth ride on Dec. 30. Uber, an app which allows users to share and track their locations with a driver and replaces the need for hailing a yellow taxi cab, has become one of the most popular forms of transportation for riders needing a lift. Users request a ride, follow their driver’s 2013 Toyota Camry on a map, and ride without the hassle of a cash exchange, paying in-app with a credit card.

It’s quick, easy, and efficient. Rather than waiting on a taxi, individuals can track it as it comes. The drivers are not weaving and speeding through city traffic. Passengers aren’t left in the back seat with barf bags, a charge for using that barf bag, and a wonder of how much vomit had already soiled the putrid cloth seats, like that of a yellow taxi cab. Despite the surging costs that often occur on days where rides are highly demanded, like this past New Year’s Eve 2015, when some rides were 9.9x higher than normal rates, according to Time, riders continue to use the app for its ease and a safe method of transportation.

However, Uber is not only used by the 20-somethings needing a ride back to Uptown after a night out, or the people who could not stand the headache of driving through Wrigleyville after a Cubs game, teens have also taken advantage of the service as a form of transportation.

Senior Taizoon Lokhandwala has used Uber as a form of transportation when driving was not an option. “I used Uber when I was visiting Houston and needed to get from place to place, because I could not drive a rental car. It’s easy and efficient; you just open the app and a car will come in about five minutes and it’s fairly cheap, sometimes cheaper than a taxi,” Lokhandwala said.

But, unknown to many, the service actually requires riders to be 18 or older to have an account in the app and order a ride. Additionally, authorized Uber account holders may not order a ride for someone underage, unless they will be riding with them.

Junior Mikayla Dunning, who has used Uber, believes the age should be lowered so it could be more available to teens. “I think the age to order an Uber should be lowered to 16, because that is the age you can start driving. Teens can use it, especially in the city, or if you really need a ride anywhere,” Dunning said.

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Former Chicago Uber driver Marty Daniel believes the age requirement is due to safety issues. “It’s because of safety concerns, especially with female riders under the age of 18,” Daniel said. Uber is used more than two million times per month in the Chicagoland area, according to an article by ABC7 Chicago.

Uber has had its share of rider safety issues in the past, such as a driver being charged after sexually assaulting a male passenger in January 2015, according to NBC Chicago. Though there has been a slew of incidents, the company has made efforts to improving rider safety. These safety measures include background checks, driver profiles, and 24-hour driver location tracking.

With thorough measures, teenagers should be able to ride as they choose. Beyond safety measures Uber currently takes with its riders, a possible way to provide teenagers their own account and ability to ride could be requiring parental permission and verification.

According to an article by the Washington Post, Uber spokesman Taylor Bennett provided no comment on the increasing number of underage teens who have beat around the security measures. Like any other app or website with an age requirement, it’s nearly impossible to truly monitor the ages, and anyone can enter as long as they accept the “terms and conditions”, which usually details the age required to browse or use the app.

With the safety measures Uber claims to provide, the company should begin to market to teenagers. Numerous families have turned to Uber as a way to shuttle high schoolers to and from practices, violin lessons, or school functions, according to the article by the Washington Post.

Naperville father Steve Van Der Watt sent his daughter in Uber from Chicago’s Union Station to an internship at Lurie Children’s Hospital. “Uber is safer because you can track who’s driving you, as well as have a credit card on file. There is a picture of the driver, so if anything were to happen, I’d know who was driving and the route that the person took,” Van Der Watt said.

Beyond using Uber for travelling to and from activities, the service would be a better, safer alternative to teenagers driving from parties or possibly unsafe situations. Rather than driving home with a friend or acquaintance who could have been drinking or unstable to drive, teens can use Uber. “Teens can use Uber to get from place to place, or from parties when there isn’t an appropriate driver,” Lokhandwala said. According to a study by Temple University, from the introduction of Uber in California in 2009 to 2014, drunk driving homicides reduced alcohol-related driving homicides by 3.6 percent to 5.6 percent.

Suburban Chicago Uber driver Lance Spisak believes Uber is useful for teens, but is hesitant about driving people who are underage. “It’s absolutely useful for teens to use, and I would want my kids to be able to use it, but there is something in the system missing. The safety check and background is more extensive than any job I’ve had, but I’m more worried about myself driving teenagers who could make a false claim,” Spisak said.

As a driver, Spisak has implemented his own safety precautions when picking up riders who are underage, or have ordered the car on their parent’s’ account. “The kids are taking parents’ account information. Let’s say I’m picking up someone named ‘Shiela’, but you pick up someone named ‘Helen’, who tells you ‘Shiela’ is their mother. You don’t want to leave this teenage girl there alone. I think it’s up to the account holder’s discretion to allow their children to ride, but there was a time I picked up a girl from work and I asked to call her mother, the account holder, to verify she was allowed to ride,” Spisak added.

In order to combat false accusations from underaged riders towards drivers, things like security cameras or more background checks could be issued. Additionally, Uber drivers could apply to become a certified driver of underage riders and undergo more thorough checks. “I would not want a camera in my car, but if there was some sort of certification to become a driver for underaged riders, I would be interested,” Spisak added.

Though Uber is similar to a taxi service, drivers operate from their own personal cars. By adding cameras or other monitoring equipment similar to that of a taxi cab, drivers like Spisak will lose the feeling of owning a personal vehicle.

If Uber can manage to maintain safety for both drivers and passengers, allowing teenagers to hold accounts themselves could open an entirely new market for drivers taking teens to and from the school, driving them to cello lessons, or picking them up from a concert with friends.