Technology company continues industry-leading
work to ensure safe, accessible, efficient student transportation
across the country
HopSkipDrive today announced innovative new offerings and
products designed to meet school districts’ most complex
transportation needs for the upcoming school year.
HopSkipDrive's innovative technology continues to deliver
industry-leading solutions, addressing the evolving and
individualized transportation needs of students and schools. In
direct response to feedback from school leaders, the company has
developed a suite of purpose-built products designed to streamline
the school pickup and dropoff experience. These innovations ensure
the utmost safety, convenience, and efficiency for school staff,
CareDrivers, and riders.
- Daily Queue, which empowers school staff to see HopSkipDrive
ride details, giving school staff the visibility transportation
teams have, making pickups and dropoffs an even more seamless
experience;
- New secure, direct communication between CareDrivers and school
staff; and
- New in-App CareDriver Enhanced Digital ID.
In addition, HopSkipDrive will power rides in select markets for
students requiring wheelchair-accessible vehicles as part of the
company’s commitment to meet all student transportation needs.
"HopSkipDrive’s industry-leading safety and transparency is
always complemented by our technology-led approach to solving
challenges in student transportation,” said Corey McMahon, Chief
Product and Technology Officer of HopSkipDrive. “Our tools not only
help address the challenges caused by underutilized routes and a
national bus driver shortage, but also the increased need for more
personalized transportation offerings. We do this while delivering
what school leaders, parents, caregivers, and communities rightly
expect: nothing less than safe, reliable rides to and from
school.”
HopSkipDrive continues to demonstrate its commitment to
innovation, building on the numerous industry-first products
announced just this year aimed at elevating the standards of
safety, efficiency, and equity within the student transportation
sector. Building upon the success of last year's back to school
launch of five innovative products and services—including advanced
routing technology, expanded offerings for students with
disabilities, and a new ride pooling solution—HopSkipDrive once
again delivers first-of-their-kind solutions designed to meet the
needs of schools, districts, students, families, and CareDrivers,
just in time for back to school.
Offerings to streamline school pickup/dropoff and CareDriver
communication
The following new updates deliver comprehensive visibility to,
and contact with, CareDrivers and on-site school staff.
Daily Queue
School transportation organizers can now empower school staff
managing car lines with RideIQ access, HopSkipDrive's leading ride
management platform. The new Daily Queue feature provides staff
with the same real-time view that school transportation teams have
of which students have been matched with which CareDriver, as well
as CareDriver and vehicle details. This heightened visibility
allows on-site staff to efficiently manage car lines and the school
drop-off and pick-up areas, while ensuring that each child finds
their driver seamlessly. Daily Queue provides real-time status
updates and arrival ETAs for each CareDriver.
Daily Queue is also viewable in a printable list, which is
crucial for accessibility, especially in cases where there are
challenges with service reception or accessing Wi-Fi on mobile
devices. It can also be accessed via a mobile device or traditional
desktop; removing the need for school staff to have
district-provided devices or needing to download apps onto personal
devices.
“Daily Queue has enabled me to fully focus on my role as a ride
organizer by saving me valuable time and allowing me to focus on
ride management,” said Marcy Phelps, Director of Transportation of
Littleton Public Schools. “With onsite staff seeing real-time ride
data, they can efficiently track rides heading to their school and
coordinate directly with CareDrivers. This seamless integration has
significantly streamlined our operations, ensuring smoother and
more responsive service for our students."
Direct Connections to CareDrivers During the Ride
Users of RideIQ can now directly call CareDrivers – the vetted
local caregivers providing safe rides in their vehicles – to help
answer questions and quickly resolve issues like location confusion
or a traffic delay. Phone numbers will appear as masked data during
a ride, and RideIQ users will only have access to the CareDriver’s
masked phone number for the duration of the ride.
"HopSkipDrive’s strong relationship with both CareDrivers and
school districts - unlike traditional transportation brokers -
allows us to design products that create more seamless and
integrated end-to-end experiences," said McMahon. "This not only
makes the process of arranging transportation easier and more
efficient, but it also enables us to deliver more innovative
solutions.”
Enhanced Digital IDs for CareDrivers
HopSkipDrive is introducing Digital ID within the CareDriver
app, enabling CareDrivers to seamlessly identify themselves to
school staff at arrival, helping onsite staff verify the
CareDriver’s identity and further streamline pickup and
dropoff.
This new feature includes the CareDriver’s name, photo, and
vehicle info, complementing HopSkipDrive’s existing protocols such
as required multi-factor verification to begin a ride and RideIQ’s
privacy standards.
Supporting students with Wheelchair Accessible
Vehicles
HopSkipDrive is introducing the ability for school districts to
book rides through the HopSkipDrive platform for students requiring
wheelchair-accessible vehicles. Recognizing HopSkipDrive's
unwavering commitment to safety, reliability, and exceptional
support, many school districts have long expressed their desire to
partner with the company to address the unique transportation needs
of their students who use wheelchairs.
“HopSkipDrive has been a strong partner to DPS for many years,
and we’re glad to be able to work with HopSkipDrive to meet the
vital needs of students in wheelchairs,” said Albert Samoa,
Executive Director of Transportation of Denver Public Schools.
“HopSkipDrive’s approach to safety and technology make arranging
transportation convenient and reliable, and we’re looking forward
to the school year ahead.”
Initially available in select cities in California and Colorado,
the company intends to expand access to this offering more
broadly.
To learn more about HopSkipDrive, visit hopskipdrive.com.
About HopSkipDrive
HopSkipDrive is a technology company that solves complex
transportation challenges where there is a heightened need for
safety, equity, and care. HopSkipDrive is modernizing the $30
billion school transportation industry in two ways: HopSkipDrive’s
marketplace arranges care-centered transportation to supplement
school buses and existing transportation options by connecting kids
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 currently partners with school districts across
13 states, supporting more than 10,000 schools. More than three
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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