Uber Introduces ‘Senior Mode’ for older adults
I received a promotional email from Uber late yesterday afternoon alerting me to the Uber app’s all-new “senior mode.” Intrigued out of journalistic curiosity, I go to click the “Learn More” button in the message, which zips me to this page on Uber’s website. The header text on the page promises what Uber is calling “easier rides for older adults.”
“Caring for loved ones is a balancing act—that’s why we’ve made it easier to support your parents or grandparents,” Uber writes. “Set them up with a simpler ride experience so they feel confident going anywhere, knowing you’re there to help if needed.”
Amongst the hallmark features of senior mode include a “simplified app experience” replete with larger buttons and text. In addition, Uber boasts senior mode features “a minimal homescreen to help make booking even more straightforward, and only see essential booking details for added clarity.” Importantly, Uber says senior mode has aid-focused tools for caregivers and/or loved ones in the event someone needs help.
“Easily lend a hand if your loved one needs help—you’ll be able to track trips, add their favorite places, and call their drivers,” Uber says. “Plus, they’ll always have access to our on-trip safety features such as being able to call 911 and our 24/7 safety support.”
Uber has partnered with GIA Longevity and GoGoGrandparent in building senior mode.
While it’s perfectly logical to presume accessibility is about a discrete, admittedly esoteric suite of software features for people with disabilities, older adults—senior citizens—are very much in alignment with accessibility’s target demographic. It makes perfect sense because it’s only natural that people will require more help for daily living as they age. Eyesight gets less sharp. Hearing gets less sound. Fine-motor skills get less precise. Hell, many of our nation’s veterans are older people who became disabled whilst defending the country. Thus, Uber’s senior mode clearly is the company’s recognition of the aging process and the costs it incurs. Uber is making its app more accessible to seniors, the byproduct of which is heightened agency and autonomy.
Similarly, Apple’s Assistive Access on iOS and television products such as JubileeTV and LG’s new Easy TV all are technologies adapted—accessibility is nothing if not about adaptation—to be simpler for seniors (and anyone else with intellectual disabilities).
The advent of Uber’s senior mode comes months after my beloved Waymo introduced a feature—teen accounts—for those folks on the polar opposite end of the age spectrum.
