HopSkipDrive

So this is a ride share app that functions with local school districts- school districts also hold the permissions for notifications, changes /updates. For example what we went thru today. At 8am the school made a change to the morning ride, no notification goes out to the parents… thankfully common sense helps. However my evening rides on the app showed like normal no changes. At 6 pm I get a call from my daughter that the driver isn’t there I check the app… there Zaide so I call ride Shae oh look school made changes… great thankfully their teenagers and I live in a great area with public transportation… but again no confirmation (rideshare company leaves it to the school… school leaves it to ride share… I love this no accountability aspect. I’ve already filed a complaint with the school… for me is a free ride for the kids to go to school nothing more. I’ll keep a closer eye on my younger kido and we will get him a cell phone bc this ride share doesn’t hold accountability like the school.. they put it off on the school - school puts it off on them. The app experience is limited.. don’t expect Uber.. style presentation. It’s basic I don’t think it shows a live version of anything it’s always “pending location” As a parent I would be very careful if you have young kids. You could easily end up in a situation of panic and lack of communication will be at the center.

Like most parents I worry about letting my kids get into a car with someone I don't know. However, I was put in a tight situation last year and needed to figure something out. I'm a single mom and I can't be in 5 places at once. After much debate and reading reviews I decided I would try this service out. It has been amazing! I tell everyone about it now. I get an email prior to pickup with the person's information who will be picking my kids up, their car, and license plate. I then get a notifcation when they have arrived and I can follow their trip remotely in real time. It's a life savor. My kids always have felt safe and the drivers have been nothing but kind to them. I love that they have to tell my kids the word/phrase that we selected before getting into the car. This really helps with another level of safety! My only complaint is, I can't tip. These people are amazing and get my kids safely to things and I want to be able to give them an extra "thank you" but it's not an option currently. I will say, I have only used this for my older children - older than 10.

This afternoon HopSkipDrive let me know today just 13 minutes before my 11 year old was due to be picked up that the driver was too far away and they were looking for a replacement. I live in San Francisco and was across town so it was too late for me to get there in time. Five minutes later they let me know that they found a driver but they would be 25 minutes late. My son was without a mobile phone and in a class that was ending so there no way to communicate with him what was going on. I ended up cutting an appointment short and going to get him myself. Hopskip was apologetic but had no real excuse other than the driver leaving late and getting caught in traffic. Because they were not managing their drivers well I was greatly inconvenienced but far worse, my son was stuck waiting outside in San Francisco for nearly 30 min without a way to reach me. Thankfully all was okay when I arrived to get him. I was happy with Hopskip the first few times I used the service. Requests were accepted and the driver was on time and nice to my son. However, recently almost every time I try to schedule a ride it is not accepted. I understand this can be an issue if trying to schedule something with less than 24 hours notice but it has been the case even if I'm trying three or four days ahead of time. Obviously after today I do not plan on using this service any longer as there are other options out there that I presume will take my son's safety more seriously.