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Can minors legally take Uber or Lyft alone in California? | VERIFY

Fifteen Uber and Lyft drivers recently emailed ABC10 expressing concern about how often they pick up unaccompanied minors.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Uber and Lyft have become a common mode of transportation not only for adults, but sometimes even for kids, whose parents use it to shuttle them back and forth from school or other activities. However, drivers for the ride-share companies are getting fed up. 

Fifteen Uber and Lyft drivers recently emailed ABC10 expressing their concern about how often they pick up unaccompanied minors. 

Mark, a full-time ride-share driver who asked to keep his last name private, asked us this: "I would like to know if it's actually against the law for drivers who work for Uber or Lyft to drive minors?"

So, is it? 

Let's VERIFY. 

To start, we met with Matt Buonauro and Mark -- two Uber and Lyft drivers in the Sacramento area who say that sometimes, multiple times a day, they get requests from minors. 

"It's at a point now, where you're having little kids being picked up as well. I mean, yesterday I had a kid, [and] this little girl was maybe 10," Buonauro explained. 

In fact, they said that between 2 and 4 p.m. if a driver is around a school, they more than likely are going to get a student under 18. 

"You know a kid could get sexually assaulted in an Uber. A kid could be kidnapped in an Uber. There's so many things that a kid could happen to an Uber," Buonauro added. 

What Lyft and Uber are saying: In a statement, Lyft told us that "Safety is our top priority. Unaccompanied minors are not permitted on the platform, and drivers have our support in complying with this policy." 

Uber directed us to their community guidelines which states, "Only adults can have an Uber rider account. If your child is using your account, a parent or guardian must be with them at all times."

So, that tells us it's against policy for a minor to take an Uber or Lyft alone. But, is it against the law?

What California Highway Patrol is saying: We reached out to CHP. Two spokespersons told us that there is nothing in the state vehicle code that addresses this issue and then directed us to the California Public Utilities Commission. 

What the California Public Utilities Commission is saying: The CPUC does have a regulation (Decision 16-04-041) that addresses this issue, but only sort-of. 

A spokesperson explained the regulation like this:  

"If a TNC [Transportation Network Company, such as Uber or Lyft] or other carrier intends to primarily transport minors, the carrier must comply with the CPUC’s child transport regulations, which include a Trustline fingerprint-based check. Otherwise, the CPUC does not prohibit TNCs from transporting minors. Uber and Lyft because they do not primarily transport minors, so they are not subject to the Trustline fingerprint-based check or other regulations that carriers that DO primarily transport minors must undertake."

"Primarily" being the operative word here, essentially, the CPUC relies on Uber and Lyft to regulate themselves. 

VERIFY: Knowing that, we can verify that, while it is against company policy for an Uber or Lyft driver to take a minor, no - it is NOT against the law. 

What's next? Many drivers, like Matt and Mark, say they want to see more regulations in place about minors primarily because it's safer for youth, but also because drivers who cancel rides from minors are losing out on the time and gas it took to get to that ride. 

Buonauro suggested the apps should create a Geo-fence around schools that prohibit rides from those areas, and/or crack down on accounts that are cited as being minors. "It's on the companies and it’s on the government to enforce some type of regulation to make sure there isn't a tragedy," he said, "Because all it takes is one big tragedy and then it's a big deal." 

The CPUC, meanwhile, said they may consider updating the regulation. For instance, they may look into requiring the companies to verify a customers age before joining the app, but there's no estimated date on when that could happen.

For now, it's not illegal - only against policy. 

Do you have something you want to get verified? Text us at 916-321-3310 or fill out the form below. 

Continue the conversation with Liz Kretuz on Facebook.

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