Daily Mail - 12.08.2019

Daily Mail, Monday, August 12, 2019 Page 23

Stop putting your

children in Ubers

on their own,^

parents warned

UBER allows those with an

account to order taxis via a

mobile phone app. Each

account is linked to a debit or

credit card, so neither driver

or passenger has to carry

cash when it is time to pay.

Additionally, anyone with

an account can order a taxi

for someone else, even if

they are not with them. This

person would not pay for the

trip, as the account holder is

charged. Uber has intro-

duced a ‘family profile’ which

allows multiple people to

order taxis, all billed directly

to the main account holder.

To create a profile, passen-

gers are not required to pro-

vide date of birth or ID, eve

though Uber’s ‘Terms and

Conditions’ state that passen-

gers must be over 18. Drivers

may request ID if they think

their passenger is under 18.

The cashless cab service

Parents have been urged to

stop using Uber for the school

run after drivers complained

they are being pressured into

breaking the rules by picking

up unaccompanied children.

the taxi app has a worldwide

safeguarding policy which bans

under 18s from setting up accounts

or riding without an adult.

But drivers say busy parents are

increasingly using Uber via their own

accounts to ferry their children around

and even collect them from school.

While drivers are instructed to check

the ID of any one who may be under-

age – many are said to be concerned

about refusing to take children once

the operator has accepted the trip.

James Farrar, the chairman of United

Private Hire Drivers branch of the Inde-

From the woman who brought us bee-

sting facials and an eight-day goat milk

cleanse, this latest health trend might

appear rather unadventurous.

But self-styled wellness guru Gwyneth Pal-

trow has raised eyebrows once again – after

promoting a £2.45-a-litre bottle of water.

the actress, 46, has become an ambassa-

dor for Flow, a brand of ‘alkaline’ water which

claims to ‘support your wellness with healthy

minerals’ and electrolytes. However, experts

have dismissed the product’s health claims,

saying there is no ‘science’ behind the drink

which you could ‘get for free from a tap’.

Kaitlin Colucci, a specialist dietician and

member of the British Dietetic association,

explained the water has a higher pH level

than regular drinking water as it contains

alkaline compounds such as calcium.

But she said it is a ‘misunderstanding’

that these compounds necessarily have

health perks, adding: ‘Your body is usually

perfectly capable of regulating pH itself,

and there’s no need to tamper with this.

‘Whilst drinking more water is good for

your overall health and hydration, don’t

waste money on expensive water when it’s

something you can get free out of a tap.’

on the company’s website, miss Paltrow,

who founded her own wellness brand Goop,

writes: ‘We all know hydration is one of the

core tenets of great health and glowing

skin, but the convenience of a water bottle

is usually outweighed by its environmental

ramifications. Flow is changing the game.’

the Flow website adds: ‘Drinking naturally

alkaline spring water is so good for you.’ But

dietitian Dr tanis Fenton, of the University

of Calgary in Canada, added: ‘there is no

science to back it up. For people to market

alkaline water – they’re really as bad as the

snake oil salesmen of yesteryear.’

nicholas reichenbach, founder of Flow

alkaline Water, said: ‘Flow makes no health

claims regarding alkalinity – we prefer let-

ting our customers make up their own mind

on the matter. We simply let them know

that our water is naturally alkaline with

naturally occurring electrolytes and miner-

als, should they choose to consume it.’

By Sean Poulter

Consumer Affairs Editor

kids so they sling them in an Uber.

the operator accepts the job from

the parent’s account and the

driver is the one left facing the

dilemma. It leaves them in a weak

and marginalised position.’

the company’s policies recently

came under scrutiny after a 12-

year-old girl from Florida jumped

to her death from a multi-storey

car park after travelling alone in

an Uber that she booked using her

mother’s phone.

and last year, two Uber drivers

in the UK were convicted for prey-

ing on underage girls riding in

their cars. However, many parents

said they were concerned about

letting their teenage children take

public transport at night and saw

Uber as a safer alternative.

Uber does not ask for proof of

age or identity when signing up

new customers. mr Farrar also

said passengers were able to hide

their true identity from drivers by

simply entering a letter instead of

their name on the profiles.

Harry Campbell, an Uber driver

and blogger, said proof of ID

should be required for accounts in

order to prevent minors from

using the service.

mr Campbell added: ‘It’s an

issue that Uber are keenly aware

about, but obviously, they make a

lot of money off these rides. so

they sort of sweep it under the rug

and shift a lot of the risk and lia-

bility onto drivers.’

Uber said its policies state that

drivers should not be penalised

for refusing to pick up an unac-

companied child and that unac-

companied minors should not be

allowed to ride without an adult,

even if an adult booked the trip.

a spokesman for Uber said:

‘account holders are prohibited

from allowing people who do not

meet the minimum age require-

ment to use their account while

unaccompanied,’ adding that rid-

ers or drivers violating this rule

can lose access to the app.

By Inderdeep Bains

‘Conflicting measures

for drivers’

WHERE they still exist in the UK,

they are depicted as plucky

natives fighting off an army of

grey American invaders.

But red squirrels might not be

so uniquely British after all, say

scientists.

For years experts have argued

whether the UK has its own sub-

species of the Eurasian red squir-

rel, the type found across the

world from Europe to Japan.

Now a study comparing his-

toric samples of squirrels found

in Britain with those from seven

other European countries

found their jawbones were the

same size and shape – meaning

‘our’ red squirrel is not unique.

The only examples which were

different were from a now exti-

nct population in Dorset in 1897.

It is thought the UK squirrel

population was made more

‘European’ by conservationists

who brought reds across when

the native population was

being wiped out by greys.

Study author Dr Melissa Marr,

of the Natural History Museum,

said: ‘This is an intriguing result.’

Going with the Flow: Miss

Paltrow promotes the

water that ‘supports

your wellness with

healthy minerals’

Spot the difference: A UK red,

left, and a squirrel in Europe

Sorry Tufty,

you’re not

as British

as you think

Experts pour

scorn on Gwyn’s

‘healthy’ £2.45

alkaline water

(that doesn’t

do anything!)

pendent Workers Union of Great Brit-

ain, told the mail: ‘as it stands they face

an unwinnable dilemma... If they don’t

take them they could be leaving a child

in a difficult position but if they do take

them they are breaking the rules.

‘they are also facing the pressures of

being penalised for journey cancella-

tions, losing out on fares or getting

bad ratings if they refuse.

He added: ‘the driver is expected to

accept every job he or she is given.

these are all conflicting measures.’

mr Farrar, who is a former Uber

driver, said: ‘Drivers are increasingly

worried about picking up unaccompa-

nied minors. It is a daily occurrence.

People are too busy to pick up their