Uber offering free rides to teens who failed their road test

If you are a Long Island parent looking for a break driving your teen around this summer, you might get some help from Uber.

The app-based transportation company is offering teens who failed their driver's tests free rides this summer.

The deal in progress, which lasts until July 18, requires parents with an Uber account to submit their teens' driver's tests and add an Uber Teen account. Uber will then add six rides worth $20 each to the teen account. Teen accounts let parents track their kids' rides, pair teens with highly rated drivers, and don't let drivers change the destination of the trip, according to Uber's website.

To pass a New York State road test, prospective drivers must first pass a written permit exam, complete a five-hour pre-licensing course or take a driver's education class and a practical exam that includes driving with an examiner and passing certain tasks such as parallel parking and three-point turns, according to the Department of Motor Vehicles. If the test is failed, a student driver must wait seven days to take it again.

Teens can get a full license at 17 if they have completed the course and passed the test.

Student drivers, especially teenagers, struggle the most during their road test with parallel parking, according to Asif Khan of Selden-based Elite Driving School of Long Island Inc.

"Parallel parking is a nightmare for them," Khan said. "The other thing is they fail to observe. There's traffic coming from behind, they don't look around or set their surroundings."

Uber was founded in 2009 in San Francisco by Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp. The company went public in 2019.

Uber's financial report for the first quarter of 2025 announced revenue of $11.5 billion, up from $10.1 billion the previous quarter.