Waymo has begun offering teenage accounts to Phoenix families and works to establish young riders in a user base and autonomous life.
Waymo teenage accounts are similar to those offered by Uber. This allows parents to create teenage accounts in Phoenix and other cities across the country. Metro Phoenix parents can link teenagers aged 14-17 to their Waymo accounts. The teens can then order their own rides and share travel status with their parents.
Opening self-driving cars to the fate of a child can bring security to parents who may acknowledge their children with another adult, despite the fact that ride companies like Uber say they combine teenagers with highly rated safe drivers. Also, in states like California, where riding drivers transporting children need to get fingerprints, AVS can remove some of the deficits.
That is, if your parents trust the safety of an AI-driven vehicle.
When I imagine a teenager driving a car alone, other safety concerns come to mind. Uber and Lyft say they train drivers to find trafficking, but sexual abusers were able to bypass the system to transport minors.
TechCrunch asked Waymo how they can confirm that teenagers linked to adult accounts are part of their family and what steps will they take if other riders enter the vehicle with the teenager.
A Waymo spokesperson did not respond to the initial query. He said it was safe as evidenced by specially trained support agents available to help children 24/7.
In a press release, Waymo emphasized that providing teenagers with safer modes of transportation via Robotaxis will help them deal with the higher risk of road accidents they face.
While Waymo is launching in Phoenix, the company said it will expand its teen accounts to cities outside of California wherever the Waymo app is available. Besides the Los Angeles and the Bay Area, Waymo operates commercial Robotaxis services via the Uber app in Austin and Atlanta, and is expected to be released in 2026 in Miami and Washington DC.
A spokesperson said Waymo may consider enabling teenage access through “network partners” like Uber in the future.
