Uber’s new senior mode aims to remove barriers for aging riders
For millions of older adults, a ride to the grocery store or a friend’s house isn’t just about convenience—it’s about staying connected, independent, and well. When driving is no longer an option, transportation can become a barrier to everyday life, and even a risk factor for declining health. Aging adults and families who rely on ridesharing apps to get around now have a new option to explore from Uber, which just announced a pair of features designed to make the app easier and more intuitive for senior riders. The ridesharing company is introducing senior accounts, which allow family members to help set up, track and pay for rides, and “simple mode,” a senior-friendly version of the app for older adults who use it on their own. To set up a senior account, existing Uber users can add a senior adult to their family profile in the app. The head of the family profile can book rides for a senior rider, handle payment and set monthly spending limits. The family profile lets Uber users track a connected family member in real-time, contact drivers and add saved places for frequent stops. Riders using senior accounts can opt to pay with their own payment method, one registered by a family member or using a Medicare Flex card. Uber’s new simple mode is for seniors who aren’t connected to a relative’s family profile, with changes that increase the app’s text size, streamline its interface and add clear in-app instructions. The refreshed version of the app also features bigger icons, fewer buttons and saved locations to make it easier for seniors to run errands and get out of the house with on-demand transportation. The accounts are now available in the U.S. and in some cities across France, Portugal, Mexico, Chile, Brazil, South Africa, Hong Kong and Taiwan. In India, simple mode is now available, but senior accounts are not. Last month, Lyft introduced its own app mode for senior adults, known as Lyft Silver. Uber says it developed the new set of senior-friendly features using advice from aging and accessibility advocates. “These features reflect our dedication to designing technology that meets people where they are and supports mobility at every stage of life,” Uber Director of Product Management Ashu Manohar said, describing the new features as an important milestone in its quest to make transportation more accessible. Uber’s senior accounts aren’t its first profiles designed for a cohort of users with specific needs. Uber previously introduced teen accounts that let users under 18 travel alone in connection with a parent’s account. Like senior accounts, teen accounts come with payment support and live trip tracking to enhance safety. Tech for seniors matures along with the population Around the world, populations are getting older fast. The number of people over the age of 60 is expected to double between 2015 and 2050. While that trend began with slowing birth rates in high-income countries, low and middle income countries are undergoing similar population shifts. Those changes will leave the global community to grapple with how to accommodate a huge swath of people entering into a phase of life marked by unique challenges to health and well being. Meanwhile, the pace of technological progress feels like it never lets off the gas, particularly with the advent of AI. Aging adults have an impossible amount of new tech tools to keep up with – even with classes dedicated to just that – but those tools are at their best when they create real solutions that make everyday life easier “Transportation is one of the biggest barriers to independence as people age,” Silvia Candamil Neirra, Vice President, Global Initiative on Ageing and Longevity, said. “Solutions like Uber’s senior accounts help break down that barrier by offering a simple and flexible way for older adults to get where they need to go—without always having to rely on others. It’s about dignity, freedom, and staying connected to the people and places that matter most.”
For millions of older adults, a ride to the grocery store or a friend’s house isn’t just about convenience—it’s about staying connected, independent, and well. When driving is no longer an option, transportation can become a barrier to everyday life, and even a risk factor for declining health.
Aging adults and families who rely on ridesharing apps to get around now have a new option to explore from Uber, which just announced a pair of features designed to make the app easier and more intuitive for senior riders.
The ridesharing company is introducing senior accounts, which allow family members to help set up, track and pay for rides, and “simple mode,” a senior-friendly version of the app for older adults who use it on their own.
To set up a senior account, existing Uber users can add a senior adult to their family profile in the app. The head of the family profile can book rides for a senior rider, handle payment and set monthly spending limits. The family profile lets Uber users track a connected family member in real-time, contact drivers and add saved places for frequent stops. Riders using senior accounts can opt to pay with their own payment method, one registered by a family member or using a Medicare Flex card.
Uber’s new simple mode is for seniors who aren’t connected to a relative’s family profile, with changes that increase the app’s text size, streamline its interface and add clear in-app instructions. The refreshed version of the app also features bigger icons, fewer buttons and saved locations to make it easier for seniors to run errands and get out of the house with on-demand transportation.
The accounts are now available in the U.S. and in some cities across France, Portugal, Mexico, Chile, Brazil, South Africa, Hong Kong and Taiwan. In India, simple mode is now available, but senior accounts are not. Last month, Lyft introduced its own app mode for senior adults, known as Lyft Silver.
Uber says it developed the new set of senior-friendly features using advice from aging and accessibility advocates. “These features reflect our dedication to designing technology that meets people where they are and supports mobility at every stage of life,” Uber Director of Product Management Ashu Manohar said, describing the new features as an important milestone in its quest to make transportation more accessible.
Uber’s senior accounts aren’t its first profiles designed for a cohort of users with specific needs. Uber previously introduced teen accounts that let users under 18 travel alone in connection with a parent’s account. Like senior accounts, teen accounts come with payment support and live trip tracking to enhance safety.
Tech for seniors matures along with the population
Around the world, populations are getting older fast. The number of people over the age of 60 is expected to double between 2015 and 2050. While that trend began with slowing birth rates in high-income countries, low and middle income countries are undergoing similar population shifts. Those changes will leave the global community to grapple with how to accommodate a huge swath of people entering into a phase of life marked by unique challenges to health and well being.
Meanwhile, the pace of technological progress feels like it never lets off the gas, particularly with the advent of AI. Aging adults have an impossible amount of new tech tools to keep up with – even with classes dedicated to just that – but those tools are at their best when they create real solutions that make everyday life easier
“Transportation is one of the biggest barriers to independence as people age,” Silvia Candamil Neirra, Vice President, Global Initiative on Ageing and Longevity, said. “Solutions like Uber’s senior accounts help break down that barrier by offering a simple and flexible way for older adults to get where they need to go—without always having to rely on others. It’s about dignity, freedom, and staying connected to the people and places that matter most.”
