Related: How Ridesharing Can Meet A Variety of Student Needs
HopSkipDrive Expands Ride Service to 3 Cities
The children’s ridesharing company launches its ride service in Phoenix, Houston, and Seattle.

HopSkipDrive has expanded its ride service for kids to Phoenix, Ariz.; Houston, Texas; and Seattle, Wash. Photo courtesy HopSkipDrive

Children’s ridesharing company HopSkipDrive has expanded its service to three more cities.
HopSkipDrive provides app-based customized transportation services for children and their families. That includes getting kids to and from school, sports practices, and other after-school activities.
The company has been operating in parts of California and Colorado, and recently expanded its service to cover northern Virginia and the Washington, D.C., region. Now, schools and families in Phoenix, Ariz.; Houston, Texas; and Seattle, Wash., can schedule rides through the HopSkipDrive app.
“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 Joanna McFarland, co-founder and CEO of HopSkipDrive. “When kids don’t have to worry about how they’re getting to school, they show up calm and ready to learn. They thrive.”
When parents book a ride for their child, via the HopSkipDrive app or website, it shows them a profile of the driver, including a photo. Parents can also communicate special instructions to drivers and receive progress notifications when their child is picked up or dropped off.
In addition to parents and families, HopSkipDrive has partnered with more than 150 schools and districts to create customized student transportation solutions for students. The app allows administrators to book, edit, and monitor rides, and also aims to reduce the district’s transportation costs, shorten student commute times, and improve educational outcomes, according to the company.
“HopSkipDrive is not only 60% less expensive than our previous car service solution, but far more reliable,” said Mike Hush, the director of transportation for Littleton (Colo.) Public Schools. “We had worked with HopSkipDrive for only a few weeks before we quadrupled the number of students riding with CareDrivers.”
More Management
How Incentives, AI, and Energy Markets Are Reshaping School Transportation
Sit down with Joe Annotti of TRC Companies to talk district grant funding, utility challenges, AI, and why school buses are evolving from transportation assets into energy assets.
Read More →
Inside the Contracting Shift: What School Transportation Operators Are Seeing Now
School transportation contractors weigh in on recent trends, costs, driver shortages, and the rise of multimodal student transportation.
Read More →The No-Idling School Bus AC System
Take a peek at ExoAir Systems’ battery-powered cooling solution designed to run for up to 10 hours without the engine on, reducing fuel use and improving comfort for drivers and students.
Read More →Geotab on Three Major Trends in School Transportation
School bus fleets are becoming more proactive than ever. From AI driver alerts to vehicle-to-grid opportunities, Geotab outlines the biggest technology trends transforming school bus operations.
Read More →
Gatekeeper Lands Major School Bus Deals as Revenue Surges
The video solutions provider announces contracts with Atlanta Public Schools and other fleet operators as it records quarterly revenue growth and expanding subscription business.
Read More →
Building Leaders Who Last: Creating a Successful Mentorship Program in Student Transportation
Discover five strategies for building an effective mentorship program to strengthen leadership development and support staff retention.
Read More →
The BUILD America 250 Act Has Big Implications for School Buses, Too [Updated]
Buried within a sweeping federal transportation bill are provisions that could affect school bus driver requirements, illegal passing enforcement, and even the future role of autonomous technology in pupil transportation.
Read More →
What More Than Two Million Rides Reveal About School Transit
More than two million student trips. Nearly 28million miles. Here's what that data reveals about the future of alternative student transportation.
Read More →
'Our Routes Looked Like Spaghetti': Survey Reveals School Bus Routing Struggles
Transfinder's new data reveals how driver shortages, bell schedules, and community demands are limiting school bus routing efficiency nationwide — and what districts are doing.
Read More →
Not Just ‘Trust Us’ Anymore: Zonar Achieves SOC 2 Certification for Data Protection
The independent validation means that Zonar meets high cybersecurity standards to protect customer data across its fleet management platform.
Read More →



