HopSkipDrive: The caregiver experience

When three working mothers came together to found HopSkipDrive, they knew from the get-go just how critical it was from a parent/guardian — or “caregiver” — point of view to be as informed as possible about all details of each and every ride.

They wanted to make sure they knew themselves what the ride experience felt like from a caregiver’s perspective. So much so, in fact, that they made sure the very first Rider on the HopSkipDrive platform was actually one of their own children. 

This emphasis on the parent/caregiver perspective remains a central part of HopSkipDrive to this day. With each iteration of our products, we ask ourselves what HopSkipDrive caregivers would like to know. 

Below, we’ll walk you through what you can expect as a caregiver when your Rider takes a ride through HopSkipDrive. 

Initial onboarding 

When your Ride Organizer sets up the initial ride through HopSkipDrive, you can expect to receive a series of communications from us. This will include text messages informing you that your Rider has rides scheduled through our solution. 

We highly recommend you download the HopSkipDrive caregiver app at this point, as this will allow you to manage your Rider and their rides more efficiently — and receive next-level transparency with real-time ride visibility. 

You may also receive other email communications from HopSkipDrive. As a caregiver on a Rider’s account, it is highly recommended that you review any emails you receive from us.

Ride communications

The evening before your Rider has a ride scheduled, you’ll receive a recap text message from us, listing out all rides your Rider is scheduled for. If you find any rides that aren’t needed, we recommend that you cancel them at this point to avoid last-minute confusion. 

Regardless of where your Rider is being picked up from, you will receive status messages about the different stages and progress of each ride. 

These messages will include the following notifications:

• When the CareDriver is on the way
• Photos of the CareDriver and their vehicle
• When the CareDriver has arrived at pickup
• When your Rider has been picked up
• When your Rider has been dropped off

On the rare occasion when a CareDriver is running behind, you will receive a text message updating you. 

You will also receive a text message if a ride has been canceled due to a Rider no-show. 

In-app communications

Beyond being able to track all rides in real-time through the HopSkipDrive app, you’ll also receive the ride status messages above as in-app notifications. 

In addition, you can also rate each ride in the app once it’s been completed.

Additional communications

During a ride, you may occasionally receive a call from our Safe Ride Support team, a Ride Organizer or a CareDriver. Certain situations may require a call to you from one of the members listed above, such as a Rider not being present at the designated pickup spot or the need for clarification on directions for where to pick up the Rider. 

Communications from your Ride Organizer

On top of all the communications we deliver directly to you, as a caregiver you will also be receiving onboarding materials from your Ride Organizer. These materials will include such things as emails and copies of our caregiver kit.

You can also visit our caregivers page to learn more. 

Other resources for you

While we’ve covered the communications we deliver directly to you, we also have other resources that are available to you as you get up and running as a caregiver with HopSkipDrive. 

Our dedicated caregiver help center covers granular tasks in our HopSkipDrive app, and provides answers to some frequently asked questions. You can also access tutorials in this help center that can help guide you through such things as setting up your HopSkipDrive caregiver account. 

Future investments 

As we continue to heavily invest in our technology and experience, you may see enhancements to the caregiver processes and experience. We are constantly looking for ways to better enable everyone to have the best ride experience through our solution. 

As always, caregivers can reach out to our team at 844-HOP-SKIP, email us, or chat with us online.