Why I'll Always Pay for My Kids to Get Home Safe

We do not have Uber or Lyft in our area. And yet my Uber bill is $200 plus a month. Why? Because I would rather my kids get home safely.

I will admit to watching way too many episodes of Criminal Minds and Law and Order: SVU than I should have. But here we are.

When my daughter, my oldest, left for college, I told her she had free rein on my Uber account and to use it whenever she was drinking or had to walk home alone. No questions asked. When she studied and worked abroad, she had the same instructions, except the charges came through as Cabify instead of Uber. Same rule, different country.

Now she lives and works in New York City. She supports herself. She is a capable, independent adult. And the rules remain the same. I don’t want her taking the subway by herself late at night. I don’t want her walking by herself late at night. And I certainly do not want her to be reliant on a date, especially on a first date, to get herself home.

For my son, who is a freshman in college, I want him to be able to get home safely, whether he is drinking or not. No hesitation, no mental math, no making do with whatever option happens to be there.

Yes, my daughter supports herself. But I never want her to have to choose between expenses and her safety. I never want either of my kids to pause at the moment that matters most because they’re doing math in their head about whether the cost of a ride home is worth it.

Until my kids are making enough money that the price of an Uber is not something they have to stop and think about, as long as I still have money in my bank account, I will happily carry this expense.

It is, without question, the easiest check I write every month.

— Michele