Can My Teen Take an Uber in San Diego?
Uber shut its teen service in California rather than fingerprint drivers. Here is what San Diego parents can legally use instead — every claim sourced, every cost calculated.
Direct answer: No. Uber suspended its teen-account service in California in December 2024 rather than meet the state's fingerprint background-check requirement for drivers carrying unaccompanied minors, and Lyft requires riders to be 18. In California, San Diego included, no mainstream rideshare app may carry an unaccompanied rider under 18 — not at 13, not at 17.
What you can actually use: a kid-rideshare service (legal, cheapest, a different vetted driver can claim each ride) · a licensed car service like EGT (CPUC license TCP #0046494-A, the same named professional driver every run, texts to you at pickup and drop-off) · or the family calendar. The cost calculator below shows all three side by side.
Parents: get your route quoted in one text.
Tell us the pickup spot, the school or activity, and the days. The owner prices it personally and texts back, usually within 15 minutes. Most single runs land around $65–$80, siblings ride together on one rate.
What happened to Uber Teen in California
Uber launched teen accounts nationally in 2023, over the objection of California's utilities regulator. In December 2024 the CPUC settled the question: drivers carrying unaccompanied minors in California must pass fingerprint-based background checks (TechCrunch). Rather than fingerprint its drivers, Uber shut the teen service down statewide — its own help page confirms it remains unavailable in California. Lyft never offered a California teen product. Even the newest workaround, sending kids alone in a Waymo, is against Waymo's policy and the subject of calls for a state crackdown.
The plain-English version: California decided that whoever drives your kid should be fingerprinted, the way school and childcare workers are. The apps walked away from that standard. The companies that stayed are the ones built to meet it: specialized kid-rideshare services whose California drivers clear TrustLine, the state's fingerprint registry, and licensed charter-party carriers like EGT, whose CPUC license (TCP #0046494-A, verify it yourself) comes with commercial insurance and professional drivers. EGT filed its TrustLine agency registration in August 2026.
Your real options, honestly compared
| Uber / Lyft | Kid-rideshare app (e.g. HopSkipDrive) | EGT (licensed car service) | You drive | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Legal under 18 in CA? | No — suspended / 18+ | Yes (age minimums apply) | Yes — TCP #0046494-A | Yes |
| Who drives | — | A vetted gig driver; can differ each ride | The same named professional, every run | You |
| How trust works | — | Background checks + in-ride cameras | A person you have met, plus commercial insurance | It's you |
| Typical cost | — | ~$25–$45 per ride | ~$65–$80 per run, siblings together, gratuity included | Your time + ~72.5¢/mile |
| Parent updates | — | In-app tracking | Text at pickup, text at drop-off | — |
What it really costs per month: the calculator
Set your week and see every option side by side, including the one nobody invoices: your own time. Defaults are cited estimates, every field is editable.
Estimates only. Mileage at the 2026 IRS standard rate of 72.5¢/mile; drive distance estimated from time at city speeds; kid-rideshare default from published Southern California per-ride estimates; sitter default from typical San Diego rates. EGT runs are quoted personally by the owner, most land between $65 and $80.
An honest note before you decide
If per-ride price is your deciding variable and your student meets the age minimum, a kid-rideshare service is genuinely the cheaper paid option, and its California drivers do clear the state's fingerprint standard. EGT is for families buying a different thing: the same person, known by name, at the same time every week, under a commercial carrier's license and insurance, with a text to you at both ends of every ride. That structure costs more than a marketplace. It is supposed to.
Frequently asked
Can my 15-year-old take an Uber alone in San Diego?
No. Uber's teen service is suspended across California and standard accounts require riders to be 18. The same applies at 13, 14, 16, and 17.
So how do under-18 riders travel legally without a parent?
A kid-rideshare service that meets California's TrustLine fingerprint standard, or a licensed charter-party carrier like EGT, booked by the parent, with the driver texting the parent at pickup and drop-off.
What does EGT charge for a school or activity run?
Every route is quoted personally by the owner. Most single-zone runs land around $65 and two-zone runs around $80, per run, siblings together on one rate, gratuity included, no surge, no monthly commitment.
Is this only for school?
No. The most common routes are after-school: practice, club sports, gymnastics, tutoring, rehearsals, on the same days every week, with a standing slot and the same driver.
Related: School run & after-school car service · Private student transportation · Teen & minor transportation, including airport
Sources: Uber Help: teen availability in California · TechCrunch, Dec 5 2024 · The Rideshare Guy · Lyft age policy · LA Times via Yahoo on Waymo · TrustLine · School Transportation News on HopSkipDrive's 2026 consistency program · IRS 2026 mileage rate