Traveling with young children comes with a whole new set of challenges but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t throw in the towel! It may take a bit more research but the reward of seeing your little one explore the world is well worth it. Today we wanted to answer one of the most popular questions we receive, “How do I take a taxi with a baby or toddler?”. “Do I need a car seat?”. “Are their any ride services that are family friendly?”.
Taxis and Car Seats
These questions are very important but also difficult to answer as car seat and for-hire vehicle laws change from region to region. To start, most cities require that a child is secured in a car seat while riding in taxis or rideshares. However, in two major cities, New York City and Las Vegas, taxis are currently exempt from the car seat law. This makes it legal for children to ride in taxi cabs without a car seat. Please note, we do not condone this and still strongly encourage parents to use appropriate safety measures. Even in regions where a car seat is not mandatory most taxi companies will have car seats on hand. Simply, call and reserve the car with a car seat ahead of time. While this takes some extra planning, you will appreciate not having to lug a car seat around!
Rideshares and Car Seats
Uber and Lyft, on the other hand, always require young children to be safely secured in an age-appropriate car seat . You are allowed to bring your own child seat or you can order Uber’s family friendly option, Uber Car Seat (also known as Uber Family). Uber Car Seat will bring you a car already equipped with a forward facing car seat. These car seats can accommodate children who are at least 1 years old and are between 22-48 pounds and 31-52 inches. If your child does not meet these requirements, you will need to bring your own car seat. Unfortunately, Uber Car Seat is only available in a few cities. Also, a $10 surcharge will be added to your ride for the service
Currently Uber Car Seat is available in Philadelphia, NYC, Washington DC, Baltimore, Orlando, Istanbul Turkey, and Cluj and Bucharest Romania.
Lyft also offers car seat rides but only in NYC (and through their Disney Minnie Van Program). The Lyft car seat requirements for height, weight, and age are the exact same as Uber’s, however, the surcharge is slightly less at $8.98
Finally, there are other services that cater specifically to families traveling with young children. These service will always provide car seats and booster seats without you having to book ahead. To see if there is a child-friendly rideshare service in your area check out this article here.
Ready to start planning your trip? We suggest using RideGuru to compare estimated fares to determine which car service is cheapest for your family trip.
