Safe, Reliable Ride Solution For Kids Lands In Arizona

Busy Phoenix area parents with on-the-go kids are about to get some well-deserved assistance in transporting their kids to and from school and extracurricular activities. HopSkipDrive, the innovator in youth transportation, is proud to bring its safety-first, tech enabled transportation solution built just for kids to the Phoenix metropolitan area on July 30, 2019.

Already the trusted, go-to solution for families and school districts in California, Colorado, Virginia and Washington D.C., HopSkipDrive is a safe, convenient and dependable way to get Phoenix kids to and from school and wherever else they need to go. HopSkipDrive’s groundbreaking approach to safety begins with highly vetted caregivers behind the wheel (called “CareDrivers”) and extends to every aspect of every ride, including real-time ride monitoring by HopSkipDrive’s Safe Ride Support team.

“Nearly 1 in 2 parents say they feel they put their jobs at risk to meet their children’s transportation needs,” says Joanna McFarland, HopSkipDrive co-founder, CEO and mother of two. “Parents shouldn’t have to choose between their careers and their children’s education and activities, but that tough choice is very real for countless families. HopSkipDrive wants parents to take comfort in knowing they have someone to rely on to get their kids where they need to go, safely and without worry.”


In addition to the hundreds of thousands of families already utilizing the service, HopSkipDrive has earned the trust of more than 150 schools and districts nationwide as a solution to simplify specialized transportation. “We are deeply passionate about removing mobility-related barriers for kids, and we help transportation directors make it easy and cost-effective to get students to school safely and on time,” said McFarland. “When kids don’t have to worry about how they’re getting to school, they show up calm and ready to learn. They thrive.”

HopSkipDrive selected Phoenix as its next expansion market because the need from local parents and schools is acute. With the many areas of congestion in the Phoenix metro area, parents spend countless hours each year sitting in traffic, shuttling their kids around town while juggling work obligations. HopSkipDrive helps alleviate that stress for parents who are struggling. School choice can make traffic even more of a challenge, nearly 1 in 2 Maricopa County students take advantage of “open-enrollment,” meaning they have chosen not to attend their assigned district school but another public school or charter school in the district instead. This creates large scale transportation challenges as commutes lengthen and bus routes grow less efficient. HopSkipDrive can help parents and school administrators meet these challenges reliably and safely.

HopSkipDrive is on a mission to redefine safety when it comes to transporting kids. Its CareDriver certification process was the first of its kind and remains the most comprehensive vetting standard in the industry. Every CareDriver has at least five years of caregiving experience, and must pass a 15-point certification that includes fingerprinting, FBI and DOJ background checks, driving record checks through the DMV and an in-person meeting with the HopSkipDrive team.

HopSkipDrive’s Safe Ride Support team—whose “ground traffic control” specialists monitor every ride in real time—uses proprietary technology that is purpose-built for safety, and amplifies the power of that technology with deep operational expertise.

Rides may be reserved as little as eight hours in advance or by 7 p.m. the night before for morning rides. Families book rides through the app or online, then HopSkipDrive matches ride requests to a CareDriver and sends parents a picture and CareDriver profile to share with their children before the ride. Parents can also request “door through door” service if their child needs to be signed into or out of school, or communicate other special instructions to CareDrivers through the app. Parents receive progress alerts at pickup and drop-off for added peace of mind.

Families can download the HopSkipDrive app or go to HopSkipDrive.com to check service availability in their area starting July 30.