AIBU to think my son should not charge friends for lifts?

There's a couple of problems with this, the main one being that he is breaking the law and risking losing his licence.
The second one being that he's using petrol that YOU are paying for, and pocketing the (albeit small) profit.

I do think the "ethically corrupt" is a bit dramatic.

Oh no, I didn’t read that. Absolutely not to putting people in the boot!

When I started work, a person in my village was going past my road to the same place so offered regular lifts. The going rate was 50p a journey ( this was a long time ago) out of my £25 a week wages. It was cheaper and quicker than the bus. I think it normal to charge and it helps with his petrol costs.

Typical Mumsnet gatekeeping of other people's posts

Could you not. Odd that it was only me that got called out when loads of other people were posting on repeat "great idea " while the "normal "person on the thread had it all figured out.

I feel like I’ve just stumbled upon a very rare member of Mumsnet who has worded perfectly how NORMAL people would behave 😂
I couldn’t have put it better myself and the fact the op @KatherineJ1775 hasn’t been back since speaks volumes 😂😂😂

It was weird then she described the boy as He’s always been an outstanding individual Most parents don’t describe their children with this kind of language.

Anyway, I am suspicious of all posts that start with ‘Hi there’.

He’s asking for a contribution as more weight in the car equals higher fuel consumption. It’s being sensible while still saving his friends money as £1 is cheaper than the bus.

you’ve also said he’s letting them get in the “trunk”? That’s illegal so you need to put a stop to that before he gets in trouble with the police.

this sounds like a fake post, no Brit says trunk

Hardly out of pocket if his parents are paying for his petrol

Good on him. Kids will take the p1ss and he'll be out of pocket. My best mate was charging us all 50p for a lift to college 30 years ago.

Some of the kids my son knows (he's 17) have a little box for mates to stick their pounds/notes in. Saves any sort of awkward formal discussion. They're friends, no one takes the piss.

Lots of young adults to this, my DS included.

He doesn’t drink, so often is the designated driver to various places. His friends will pay him an agreed amount (far cheaper than an Uber) and everyone is happy!

Being picked up and taken to College for a £1 is an absolute bargain, and they don’t have to wait around for the College bus, which can take twice as long due to their routes.

Chill out about it.

😂😂😂

OP might try those on their next imaginary thread!

For the purposes of insurance they don't care who makes the money, it's whether the fees charged are more than the running costs.

I don't think his parents are paying for anything anyway, the whole thing is a big wind up!

This has got to be a wind up surely he knows that he can't have passengers in the boot of his car. I'd say this part is made up but if he really is only charging his mates £1 to be driven to college then he's definitely not ripping them off

His parents are paying for those

He's charging them less than bus fare though it's not like he's ripping them off. How many friends is he driving to college?

It is very unlikely that a 17 year old (with HUGE insurance costs) will make a profit from this. Fuel, running costs, wear and tear.

He has to be careful as charging people a fee to ride in a car can be illegal.You can ask your friends to chip in for actual fuel costs, but charging a profit-making fee is illegal and can lead to a fine of up to £2,500 or invalidate your insurance. Which means he may not be covered in an accident

Putting people in the boot isn't good.

Good on him. I think it’s entrepreneurial! Boys can be a bit like that. I’ve heard of boys “renting” or selling maths equipment at school when others forget their stuff. Seems fairly reasonable and sensible tbh! If they don’t want to pay, they can get the bus/walk. I think it’s quite sweet actually. It’s only a small amount of money.

Don't say stuffing. You'll be accused of being aggressive like I was when I used the word shove.

If your concern is that your DS is profiteering by charging his friends for costs you are covering anyway, then you could try clawing back the money from him and see how that goes down.

I don't think it amounts to corruption though. It is quite an abrupt character reversal: from 'outstanding, generous and kind' to 'ethically corrupt'.

If he is stuffing his friends into the boot of his car, I think he & you have much bigger issues.

Sorry, what 😂

Just a small detail you forgot to mention there....

This is almost certainly against his insurance rules. I suggest he reads up on his policy.