Safety is so much more than checking a box for compliance.
Safety means going above and beyond the current ‘norms’ to set a much, much higher bar for ourselves and the industry as a whole.
We are proactive, innovative and relentless about safety. Our CareDriver certification process, innovative technology, and proprietary Safe Ride Support System are just a few examples of how we consistently exceed regulatory requirements and TNC standards.
We are proactive and relentless about continuously improving safety features and processes. We’re completely transparent. We publish our safety metrics to hold ourselves and the market accountable.
We’re bringing safety into the future, not just complying with regulations that were written years before. HopSkipDrive is the leading solution for safe youth transportation — for children today and tomorrow.
Safety is everything at HopSkipDrive.
We know that the best defense is a good offense. That’s why we’re proactive, looking ahead to the future of safety rather than doing the bare minimum for compliance. From the qualifications for CareDrivers to access the platform to the way we exceed Transportation Network Company (TNC) requirements to our advocacy for CANs checks, HopSkipDrive sets the highest bar for safe youth transportation solutions.
The 15-point CareDriver Certification Process
Better safety checks and balances begin with our CareDriver certification process. Our requirements for CareDrivers to access the platform far exceed others in the industry.
Our 15-point CareDriver certification process was developed to ensure trusted individuals with caregiving experience could access the platform. The result is that CareDrivers are more than drivers, they’re caregivers on wheels.
This certification process includes TNC requirements; but here are some ways we exceed the requirements:
*Implemented for prospective drivers in 2021. In some markets, this may be completed after activation on the platform for new and existing CareDrivers.
Once joining the platform, CareDrivers enroll in ongoing monitoring so that HopSkipDrive is alerted of any new criminal or motor vehicle history.
In addition, HopSkipDrive works with an industry-leading third-party app that detects unsafe driving patterns such as hard braking, hard acceleration and device use.
At the end of each week, CareDrivers receive information about their own driving patterns from the week before, along with resources on safe driving. No CareDriver who poses a safety risk to a Rider is permitted to use the Platform. (More on this later.)
While the Transportation Network Company regulating body varies from state to state, the following criteria applies across all states; this criteria often overlaps with state Department of Education requirements.
We far exceed:
In California, CareDrivers must be cleared through TrustLine before they can join the platform.
All caregivers listed with TrustLine have been cleared through a fingerprint check of records at the California Department of Justice and FBI, in addition to a search of California Department of Social Services records. This means they have no disqualifying criminal convictions or substantiated child abuse reports in California.
To be proactive for the industry as a whole, we worked with the California Public Utilities Commission to adopt using Trustline as the standard for any rideshare company working with youth. We will continue to advocate for child abuse and neglect checks to be the standard for any transportation solutions for youth.
CANs checks will become standard HopSkipDrive procedure in every market in 2021.
HopSkipDrive created a new solution for safe youth transportation through an innovative TNC model. We also innovate by creating technology and processes that surpass others in the industry.
Our technology is designed for maximum safety through the use of telematics. An industry leading third-party app records events of the six riskiest driving behaviors, including device use while driving, hard braking, rapid acceleration, tight turning, etc.
We can actually see the data on driving behavior and enable complete transparency for drivers: At the end of each week, CareDrivers receive information about their own driving patterns from the week before, along with resources on safe driving.
This technology is critical to our safety mission: we know that what matters must be measured.
Using insights gleaned from our tech, we published a Safety Report measuring driving behavior against industry benchmarks. We discovered that:
Learn more by reading the HopSkipDrive Safety Report here.
Our application also enables transparency and visibility for CareDrivers, Ride Organizers and families/caregivers. All users on a child’s account can track the ride happening in real-time, allowing rapid response for any issues that may come up.
CareDrivers, HopSkipDrive, Ride Organizers and parents/caregivers on a child’s account have a direct line to one another. Unlike third-party brokers, which contract with various transportation companies, each user of the platform can reach one another in one call or chat. Ride Organizers and CareDrivers can also contact HopSkipDrive directly. (User phone numbers are masked within the application for data privacy.)
HopSkipDrive is a service which arranges transportation for children ages six plus and protecting the privacy of children is very important to us. HopSkipDrive has implemented administrative, technical, and physical security controls designed to safeguard Personal Information.
The application, site and services are not directed to children and children are not eligible to use our site and services. Only parents, guardians and Ride Organizers (transportation staff) are authorized to use the services.
Users of the Platform recognize the sensitive nature in working with children and keep confidential the Personal Information of other Users consistent with the Terms of Use.
What CareDrivers see:
HopSkipDrive is proactive, innovative and relentless about being the safest solution for youth transportation needs. Relentless is our third pillar because we don’t rely on what we’ve already done. We never stop; we never think checking the box is enough.
We are relentless about being — and staying — the safest platform to enable transportation access for Riders, CareDrivers and Ride Organizers. We are relentless about every aspect of safety: data privacy of all users, data-driven improvements, constant iteration on processes and technologies, examining our own safety features, and more.
Every year we publish an in-depth Safety Report, detailing critical safety data. We not only use it internally, we share it with the world to hold ourselves and the market accountable. We put our real, hard data out into the world, while using it internally to be proactive and innovate further.
No other youth transportation solution publishes its results, but we do because we are relentless about keeping everyone (including ourselves) accountable.
Access our Safety Report here.
We’re a thought leader in the safety world, publishing content in industry publications and on our own site. We’re transparent with our innovations because we are concerned about the safety of our community. We fought to include CANs checks for all California youth transportation solutions so that all children could be safe, not just the ones that ride with HopSkipDrive.
HopSkipDrive is never afraid to set a new standard, and we constantly challenge ourselves to innovate in the field of safety. We go above and beyond when it comes to safety; in fact, we’re setting the standard for what safety in youth transportation should be. We must do this so that CareDrivers, children and the community at large remain safe. Safety is everything!