The new app and service known as Shuddle promises their drivers will shuttle your kids around town, while you track them on a dedicated app that pinpoints their progress and location.
Shuddle drivers are professional nannies, teachers, babysitters or other experts specifically trained in childcare techniques, who have been thoroughly vetted and background checked, according to founder Nick Allen, who is also the brains behind adult taxi alternative Sidecar.
"Life is busier these days -- especially for families. There's work and there's school. Then there's after school (and after-after school)", the firm points out on its website. "At the end of any given week you might feel more like a taxi than a parent, with quality time often equaling a quick conversation between traffic lights. We are a group of moms, dads and technologists who have developed a way for you to get some of that time back. As parents, we know how precious your cargo is and how important an extra thirty minutes in your day can be."
Shuddle promises its drivers will pick up and drop off kids at home, school, sports practice, their friends' sleepover or party, the mall, or any other destination, on time and safely. Parents can track their kids progress and whereabouts on the dedicated app.
Unlike Sidecar and Uber, reservations for the ride must be made anywhere from a day to a week in advance, as opposed to on demand, upon which the parent is sent the full name and picture of the driver complete with a short bio and a description of the car. Parents pay a $9 monthly fee to subscribe to the service, and then whatever individual fees apply to each ride, with the company promising its rides cost less than taxi cabs.
The company, which is backed by a $2.6 million investment from a venture capital fund, claims that safety is its number one priority, and that its insurance policy includes special provisions expressly for children. The cars, like those on Uber and Sidecar, are owned and insured by the drivers themselves, with the supplemental insurance provided by Shuddle. Coincidentally, according to the owners, the first 100 drivers hired by Shuddle are all women.
