Sometimes people exaggerate tremendously about "a couple of blocks" in my experience. And it could also involve crossing some very busy intersections.

Or this person is just a moron, that's also an option.

From Uber’s driver help page:

If you suspect a rider is underage

• Politely ask them to show a driver’s license or ID card to confirm their age.

• You have the option to cancel the trip if you believe the rider is underage (Select unaccompanied minor as the cancellation reason and potentially receive a cancellation fee).

They apparently do have Teen rides now but only through a connected account and only in a few cities. I would assume Lyft has similar policies.

Seeing posts like this makes me realise how lucky I am to have been born in a country with sane pedestrian infrastructure and generally safe environment.

I found it funny when I watched a video titled "10 most surprising things about Finland" and one of them was about how kids just walk about in the city, on their own. I was confused as to why that is so shocking but then I remembered that North America has sort of forgot about using legs as a mode of transport.

I was already on the drivers side with the "we do it all the time. it's just down the street" I don't really care if they do it all the time. The driver doesn't want to drive kids. but telling the driver to fuck off is worse. Wonder if the driver can get more pay for the harassment. Only defense the parent could have had was that the driver could have canceled the trip themself.

tbf, in many places in America walking a couple blocks is a legitimately bad and dangerous idea, especially for kids, because pedestrian/non-car infrastructure and safety is so dog shit

I drove Uber back when it was a new thing. I get pinged once and it's a fucking elementary school. I assumed my rider would be a teacher, or staff of some sort. In walks an (at most), 8 year old girl. She said her brother booked it for her, and he did it all the time. I felt quite uneasy about doing the ride, but I was in a bit of a conundrum because I know I'm of a good enough conscience that I will get her there safely, but surely if I cancelled, the brother would just book another one for her, and who knows what would happen then. In the end, I took her maybe a half mile to her home, but I felt super off about it. In hindsight, I should have just cancelled and reported the rider, but I'm not sure drivers had those resources in those days.

Walkin' in L.A., nobody walks in L.A.

Seriously, I was a few blocks from my hotel, looking for a specific restaurant and stopped in a convenience store to get directions.

Yeah, it's that way a couple of blocks. Like, do you want one of us to give you a ride?

I can picture this HOA Karen fuming because she doesn't want to put the chardonnay down long enough to walk them herself.

Uh, I know people in Houston (the most car dependent major city in the US) who would call an uber to cross the street because it's so fucking hot in the summer you would need to change your suit if you tried the trip on foot.

Thinking back to my youth when it was just endless sprawl of houses with no side walks or even street lights… I walked around in that “neighborhood” a lot and it always felt scary and unsafe, if rideshare had been a thing back then (and I wasn’t too poor to afford it which I definitely would have been) I would have liked the option to stay off the narrow gravel road shoulders with drivers passing by me at 45-50mph

So...

A) This woman doesn't trust her children to walk a couple blocks on their own, but does trust a complete stranger to pick them up in their car instead... A+ parenting.

B) I 1000% percent get that driver's hard line here. Best case scenario, you get a couple bucks for carrying some well behaved kids down the street. But the possible worse cases include kids who can't answer questions or follow instructions making your job harder, unruly children damaging your vehicle (and being forced into a position where you need to control a child that is both a stranger and your client), people seeing you pick up unattended children and calling the police, the child making a SA or other legal claim about you and immediately ending your Uber gig while threatening your livlihood and freedom... not worth the risk.

I don't have to imagine, I did once take an app ride "a couple of blocks." My wife was released from a hospital in our own neighborhood after emergency surgery. Though we live close by, walking home would have been a bad decision.

We thanked the driver for accepting such a short ride, and tipped well.

I mean, it's 2026 leaving kids unsupervised for "a couple of blocks" is probably enough for CPS to come for you. While when I was young it was what basically everyone over about 8 was expected to be fine handling.

I’m not paying a cancellation fee, that’s on you if you are refusing the trip.

My friend was raped during an Uber trip and subsequently had that rapist's child.