A ride-hailing service that caters to youngsters is allowing them to book their own rides when mom and dad are too busy to drive.
Shuddle is one of a number of new companies that provide rides to 8- to 16-year-old kids who need to get to school, a sporting event or a social activity. On Tuesday it’s introducing ShuddleMe, an app that lets the kids book the ride themselves within an hour of when the service is needed.
Before this, parents had to arrange for the car, and do so at least a day in advance. ShuddleMe still requires parental approval.
Besides Shuddle, kid-friendly ride-hailing options include HopSkipDrive and Boost, an experimental service backed by carmaker Mercedes-Benz. They’re seizing an opportunity created by well-known ride-hailing services such as Uber, Lyft and Sidecar, which all have policies against giving rides to minors who aren’t accompanied by an adult.
