Dara Khosrowshahi Says Uber Freed His Son From a License
dara khosrowshahi said his over-18 son still has not gotten a driver’s license because Uber has “freed him up.” The Uber chief said the rideshare habit is now reaching into family decisions, not just commute patterns. For younger riders, the service is replacing a first step toward car ownership with another way to get around.
Khosrowshahi on his son
“My son is over 18… I’m still trying to get my son to get his driver’s license, but Uber’s freed him up,” Khosrowshahi said on The Verge’s Decoder podcast last May. He also said, “This drives me crazy.” The comment turned a personal family choice into a broader business signal: convenience is shaping whether some young adults feel any urgency to drive.
That shift shows up in the numbers. The share of U.S. 18-year-olds with driver’s licenses fell from 80% in 1983 to 60% in 2022. Since 2000, the share of 16-year-olds with licenses has dropped by more than a quarter. Khosrowshahi said rideshare convenience for younger people is “absolutely having an effect on car ownership,” tying the trend directly to Uber’s product.
Uber Teen Accounts and Lyft
Uber launched teen accounts three years ago, giving teens under 18 a way to travel by themselves in Uber cars. The feature also includes live trip tracking for parents and allows parents to contact drivers directly during trips. Uber has moved to serve a younger rider base even as its chief executive says that same convenience may be reducing the pressure to get licensed.
Lyft launched its own teen feature in February, and Waymo has robot taxis that chauffeur teens around Phoenix and Los Angeles. Khosrowshahi’s view is not new. In 2019, ahead of Uber’s IPO, he said the company would be to car ownership what Netflix and other streaming services are to cable, and that “each of these occasions is being replaced by an on-demand occasion.” The practical takeaway for families is simple: for teens and young adults, driving is no longer the only route to independence, and Uber is trying to profit from that change while also helping shape it.
