LOS ANGELES, Calif., HopSkipDrive a technology company solving complex transportation challenges where there is a heightened need for safety, equity, and care, today announced the addition of Sandra Dainora Petersen as Senior Vice President of Product. A seasoned product executive with extensive marketplace experience, Petersen will oversee HopSkipDrive’s Product and User Experience teams, and spearhead the company’s product strategy and development as it continues to raise the bar and set new industry standards in student transportation technology.

The senior hire comes as HopSkipDrive continues its substantial momentum, with ride volume soaring 300% in the last academic year and its RouteWise AI solution optimizing student transportation operations and helping save districts up to 20% of their annual operating budget on average. She joins the Product & Technology team under Chief Product & Technology Officer Corey McMahon’s leadership, alongside Jacob Green, VP of Engineering, and the recent addition of Lacey Plache as VP of Data Science & Analytics. Petersen brings deep expertise in scaling technology platforms and driving growth, most recently serving as Chief Product Officer at Sittercity where she oversaw the development of cutting-edge B2B solutions that transformed how organizations leverage care services and led the company’s trust and safety teams.

“Sandra’s exceptional ability to harness technology in solving complex operational challenges, combined with her proven track record of building delightful user experiences, makes her the perfect leader to drive our product innovation forward,” said Joanna McFarland, Co-founder and CEO of HopSkipDrive. “Her experience scaling marketplaces and her deep understanding of the care economy aligns perfectly with our mission of creating opportunity for all through mobility.”

Previously, as Senior Director of Product at Grubhub, Petersen played a pivotal role in expanding the delivery vertical to 200+ regions. She brings significant expertise in building high-performing teams that foster collaboration and accountability, with an unwavering focus on creating seamless customer experiences that drive growth. Petersen began her career serving in product management and operations roles at Harpo Productions, The Oprah Winfrey Network, Chicago Tribune Interactive, Discover Financial Services, and A&E Television Networks.

“The opportunity to join HopSkipDrive at this transformative moment is incredibly exciting,” said Petersen. “As both a product leader and a parent of a fourth-grader myself, I deeply understand the critical role that reliable, safe transportation plays in expanding educational opportunities. I’m energized to work alongside the talented HopSkipDrive team as we continue to develop innovative solutions that help schools, students, and families thrive.”

About HopSkipDrive:
HopSkipDrive is a technology company that solves complex transportation challenges where there is a heightened need for safety, equity, and care. HopSkipDrive’s marketplace arranges care-centered transportation, supplementing other transportation options by connecting kids, older adults, or anyone needing extra support to highly vetted caregivers on wheels, such as grandparents, babysitters, and nurses. HopSkipDrive also builds software and offers advisory services that solve the biggest transportation challenges facing schools and school districts around the country, including budget cuts, bus driver shortages, and reaching climate goals. HopSkipDrive partners with school districts, government agencies, and nonprofits including supporting more than 10,000 schools across 13 states. More than 3.3 million rides over 61 million miles have been completed through HopSkipDrive since the company was founded in 2014 by three working mothers.

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LOS ANGELES, Calif. -HopSkipDrive, a technology company partnering with school districts across the country to solve complex transportation challenges, today announced it is expanding to five new cities this Fall, partnering with dozens of new clients in Bakersfield, California; Grand Rapids, Michigan; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Richmond, Virginia; and Tucson, Arizona. This growth in geographic reach comes as the company caps a 2023-2024 school year with significant growth:

From the beginning of the school year to the end, HopSkipDrive saw a more than 300% increase in rides across its marketplace, as it helped arrange transportation for students around the country. These rides were fulfilled by a network of local caregivers, called CareDrivers. Throughout the school year, the community of active CareDrivers doubled as increasing numbers of parents, grandparents, babysitters, and others came to HopSkipDrive for opportunities to earn income and support their communities.

The company grew its client base more than 50% through the 2023-2024 school year, and today works with the majority of school districts in cities where HopSkipDrive operates. Today, over 10,000 schools in 600+ school districts across the country have been supported with HopSkipDrive rides across thirteen states and dozens of major cities.

HopSkipDrive also responded to widespread interest in RouteWise AI, the company’s AI-based school transportation routing optimization tool. At the end of the 2023-2024 school year, over twenty school districts around the country leveraged insights from the proprietary software to solve issues like bus driver shortages, sustainability mandates, school policy changes, and more. One district in Colorado that used RouteWise AI was able to reduce their capital budget by 40% over 10 years by increasing vehicle utilization, right-sizing their fleet, and utilizing more efficient routes.

Over the course of the school year, the company has increased its employee base by over 30%, hiring additional team members across Engineering, Product, Data Science and Business Intelligence, Support and Safety, Sales, Public Policy, and many more to power the company’s growth and market demand for its offerings.

“Our work over the last few years has fueled our exponential growth across various areas,” said Joanna McFarland, Co-Founder and CEO of HopSkipDrive. “We’ve powered millions of safe, reliable rides for kids to tens of thousands of schools, extracurricular activities, support services, and more. We’re proud to fill a need for our school district partners as we supplement school bus transportation options and also bring forward innovative, AI-powered software to solve the biggest challenges they face. We expect 2024 will be our biggest back-to-school yet, and we’re excited to continue our momentum.”

About HopSkipDrive:
HopSkipDrive is a technology company that solves complex transportation challenges where there is a heightened need for safety, equity, and care. HopSkipDrive is modernizing the $30 billion school transportation industry in two ways: HopSkipDrive’s marketplace arranges care-centered transportation to supplement school buses and existing transportation options by connecting kids to highly-vetted caregivers on wheels, such as grandparents, babysitters, and nurses. HopSkipDrive also builds software and offers advisory services that solve the biggest transportation challenges facing schools and school districts around the country, including budget cuts, bus driver shortages, and reaching climate goals. HopSkipDrive currently partners with school districts across 13 states, supporting more than 10,000 schools. More than three million rides over 61 million miles have been completed through HopSkipDrive since the company was founded in 2014 by three working mothers.

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