Local vetted caregivers supplement yellow buses, giving school districts more resources and helping students get to school

HopSkipDrive, a technology company that solves complex school transportation challenges where there is a heightened need for safety, equity, and care, today announced its expansion into the Atlanta region.

Recent regulatory changes through the State Board of Education now enable school districts in Atlanta and throughout Georgia to utilize small vehicle transportation. These changes allow schools to enhance their mobility options with safe, reliable, and equitable rides, working alongside yellow buses to help solve bus driver shortages and address the impacts of reduced efficient transportation, including chronic absenteeism.

HopSkipDrive supports more than 10,000 schools nationwide, and works with more than 600 school districts, nonprofits, and government agencies in 13 states. The company connects school districts with local highly vetted drivers in small vehicles who are available to provide rides to school partners in as little as six hours, the shortest turnaround time in the industry. With the CareDriver network, HopSkipDrive rides can scale up and down with a district’s needs, offering a flexible solution for students, especially those whose needs cannot be met with traditional school buses and fixed routes, including those experiencing homelessness, in foster care, or with disabilities.

Detroit Public Schools Community District (DPSCD) saw a 14 percentage point decrease in chronic absenteeism when it implemented a number of solutions including partnering with HopSkipDrive. Riverside County Office of Education (RCOE) in California reported that after using HopSkipDrive, attendance for students in foster care went from 29% to over 78%.

In addition to HopSkipDrive rides, the company’s AI-powered transportation optimization solution, RouteWise AI™, solves the biggest challenges facing school transportation, including on-time arrivals, budget pressures, school policy changes, and more.

“Transportation barriers should never stand between a young person and their postsecondary goals,” said Kristi Singletary, program director of The nsoro Educational Foundation.

Since 2005, nsoro has equipped youth aging out of foster care with essential tools and support to achieve financial independence. Through holistic programming and critical wraparound support, nsoro ensures that unmet needs never derail a scholar’s future.

“We gladly welcome HopSkipDrive to Atlanta and hope to form a game-changing collaboration that will help bridge a critical transportation gap and ensure all our youth have dependable access to the postsecondary education and career opportunities they need to thrive,” Singletary added.

"We're thrilled to share that HopSkipDrive will soon be available in Atlanta, offering a simple solution that we’ve seen significantly transforms the lives of students and communities: access to safe, reliable rides,” said Joanna McFarland, CEO and Co-founder of HopSkipDrive. “Our industry-leading technology and unparalleled approach to safety, including extensive driver vetting, gives parents and schools peace of mind and a solution to the significant transportation needs in the area."

Drivers can earn up to $50 per ride,* and must have at least five years of caregiving experience and pass a rigorous 15-point certification process. Once the service is available in the Atlanta area, interested drivers can sign up on HopSkipDrive's website.

*Terms Apply

Here’s how HopSkipDrive works:

• School districts identify students to receive rides from CareDrivers and inform parents and caregivers.
• Transportation officials then arrange rides directly through HopSkipDrive’s online platform.
• Once a ride has been booked, HopSkipDrive provides ride details to organizers, parents, and caregivers. All details, and real-time ride tracking, is available in the HopSkipDrive app.
• Riders and CareDrivers verify one another using a multi-factor verification system using birthdays, names, and code words for an added layer of security before beginning the ride.
• Parents and caregivers of selected students will receive updates, including pickup times, live ride tracking, and CareDriver information, via text message and through the HopSkipDrive app.

About HopSkipDrive

HopSkipDrive is a technology company that solves complex transportation challenges where there is a heightened need for safety, equity, and care. HopSkipDrive’s marketplace arranges care-centered transportation, supplementing other transportation options by connecting kids, older adults, or anyone needing extra support, to highly-vetted caregivers on wheels, such as grandparents, babysitters, and nurses. HopSkipDrive also builds software and offers advisory services that solve the biggest transportation challenges facing schools and school districts around the country, including budget cuts, bus driver shortages, and reaching climate goals. HopSkipDrive partners with school districts, government agencies, and nonprofits including supporting more than 10,000 schools across 13 states. More than 3.3 million rides over 61 million miles have been completed through HopSkipDrive since the company was founded in 2014 by three working mothers.

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