Bad news, kids: Free rides are over
A new Parent Taxi app tracks trips taken by parents driving children around – and then charges the kids in chores, writes David Linklater.
If it’s been a long, hard school holiday period, here’s an idea that might lift your spirits. Skoda has created an app that tracks journeys undertaken by parents driving their children around – and then lets the adults charge the kids in chores. Hence the name: Parent Taxi.
The Czech brand’s British distributor has come up with the idea, but the app works via GPS so it can be used anywhere in the world. You can easily change the default distance setting from miles to Kiwirelevant kilometres. .
And no, you don’t have to own a Skoda. Just search for Skoda Parent Taxi on Apple iOS and Android platforms.
The app acts like an authentic taxi meter, except that instead of hard cash it deals in jobs like cleaning the car, feeding the family pet, tidying bedrooms and doing the dishes.
Parents or guardians can set how many kilometres equate to a single chore. Once the driver has reached their passenger’s destination, the app totals the kilometres travelled and reveals the chore/s for the journey.
As a means of receipt, the driver can share the completed journey
directly to the passenger’s smartphone/connected device via text or email; it even gives the option to share the details on social media.
Other functionality includes the ability to view past journeys and fares, create a bespoke chore receipt, and track the total amount of journeys.
A Skoda-commissioned OnePoll survey of 1723 parents/guardians with children aged 1-17 shows 89 per cent of parents regularly ask their children to help out with chores around the home. The most popular household jobs are tidying their bedroom (62 per cent), doing the dishes (30 per cent), taking out the rubbish (29 per cent) and vacuuming (23 per cent).
In addition, although parents are spending significant time on the road, nearly half (47 per cent) admitted to using the time to catch up with their kids, and 44 per cent don’t mind the extra driving as they’d rather their kids are out doing things.