Las Vegas rideshare company sees demand rise as school bus alternative amid driver shortage
By ALEC NEWBOLES
Click here for updates on this story
LAS VEGAS (KVVU) — HopSkipDrive says demand has never been higher for its service.
The rideshare company began as a way for parents to send their kids to school, without putting them on a bus. Instead of waiting at a bus stop, students are picked up by a driver and taken to school.
As schools deal with a shortage of bus drivers, HopSkipDrive has begun working directly with some districts. In Clark County, it’s working with charter schools and the Department of Family Services. Within those partnerships, the company picks up students on the fringes of bus routes, to free up the school’s drivers for faster pick ups.
“We strongly believe that a large yellow bus is the safest and most cost effective way to get lots of kids to school,” said Toby McGraw, Senior Vice President for HopSkipDrive. “That works for 80 or 90%. But when you think about the 10 or 20% that are a little difficult to stick on that route or maybe they’re situation is changing commonly, that’s where we have an opportunity to come and supplement.”
He added that by coming in and taking those students to school, they free up drivers to shift to a more populated bus route.
HopSkipDrive says demand for their service has doubled or even quadrupled in some markets since 2019.
Parents who use the service are able to track their kids’ commutes through an app. The company says all of its drivers are vetted through background checks.
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.
