Chronic absenteeism in schools remains above pre-pandemic levels nationwide. Recent reports show that a primary way to improve attendance is to ensure students have reliable school transportation.
During the presentation, Detroit Public Schools Community District will share how they have leveraged innovative technology and multi-modal transportation plans to address chronic absenteeism while delivering cost savings and driving operational excellence for their district.
This webinar will highlight:
The realities of chronic absenteeism across the country and actionable insights for attendees to bring back to their districts.
How districts can diversify their transportation mix to include buses, vans and small vehicles.
Ways DPSCD improved their attendance rates, while improving their daily operations.
With the school year quickly approaching, this webinar will help provide a framework for attendees to close out the year strong and set transportation and operations teams up for success next school year.
Brought to you by HopSkipDrive
REGISTER BELOW:
Speakers:
Aaron Walter Executive Director of Transportation
Detroit Public Schools Community District
Joe Brumfield
VP Business Development
HopSkipDrive
LOS ANGELES, Calif. – HopSkipDrive, a technology company solving complex transportation
challenges where there is a heightened need for safety, access, and care, today announced the appointments of David Katcher as Chief Operating Officer and Tyler Baldwin as Chief Revenue Officer.
Katcher and Baldwin bring extensive leadership experience across transportation, care, and
marketplace companies. Their appointments reflect HopSkipDrive’s continued investment in
scaling its operations and expanding its national footprint to ensure all students have access to safe, reliable transportation.
David Katcher joins HopSkipDrive after serving as COO at Rula, where he led a broad portfolio of go-to-market and operational teams. Under his leadership, Rula expanded from 11 markets to national coverage and launched several new service offerings. He previously held executive rolesat Lyft and AvantStay, overseeing global operations and field teams of 600+ employees. “I’m energized by HopSkipDrive’s mission to create mobility for all, and I’m excited to build the systems and services that allow us to scale with quality,” said Katcher. “Transportation is a gateway to opportunity, and we are here to make sure that access is never out of reach.”
Tyler Baldwin joins from CharterUP, where he served as CRO and led the revenue organization through a period of rapid growth, increasing gross bookings from $120M to over $200M. He has also served in executive roles at Reali and LinkedIn, building high-performing teams and launching scalable go-to-market strategies.
“I’m thrilled to help drive the next phase of growth for HopSkipDrive,” said Baldwin. “This is a company with demonstrated product-market fit, an inspiring mission, and a platform that truly makes a difference in communities. There’s a massive opportunity to support more school districts across the country, and we’re just getting started.”
“David and Tyler are incredible leaders with a deep commitment to impact, and their expertise will be instrumental as we continue to grow and expand our footprint,” said Joanna McFarland, Co-Founder and CEO of HopSkipDrive. “Their appointments reinforce our focus on quality, safety, and service at scale as we partner with more districts and solve the complex challenges of student transportation.”
HopSkipDrive’s announcement follows a string of recent milestones, including new district
partnerships, the launch of the new RouteWise AI planning platform to help schools optimize their transportation networks, and the announcement of new safety products, features, and initiatives.
About HopSkipDrive:
HopSkipDrive is a technology company that solves complex transportation challenges where there is a heightened need for safety, access, and care. HopSkipDrive is modernizing the $30 billion school transportation industry through two core solutions: a care-centered transportation marketplace and industry-leading routing software, RouteWise AI. HopSkipDrive’s marketplace supplements school buses and existing transportation options by connecting kids to highly vetted caregivers on wheels, such as grandparents, babysitters, and nurses in local communities. RouteWise AI helps schools and districts address critical challenges, including budget cuts, bus driver shortages, and reaching climate goals. HopSkipDrive has supported over 10,000 schools across 17 states, with over 600 school district partners. More than five million rides over 95 million miles have been completed through HopSkipDrive since the company was founded in 2014 by three working mothers.
Despite hesitancy with artificial intelligence, Denver Public Schools learned with partner HopSkipDrive to optimize its school-bus routes with AI-driven software.
“I think that there’s a nervousness that AI will take over the world and get rid of the need of routing,” said Tyler Maybee, director of operations for transportation services at Denver Public Schools. “I honestly think this is just seen as a time saver and a way to create a really functional base level of understanding for a particular routing team. I think it’s meant to be a support tool. It’s never meant to replace … I’m not looking to reduce my staff because I use RouteWise AI.”
Maybee explained that during the pandemic, DPS formed a partnership with HopSkipDrive’s alternative transportation services for McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act transportation. He explained that busing students protected by the federal law is sometimes inefficient because they are often located far from their home schools.
It was around early 2022 that the company brought up its idea of an AI solution to DPS.
“We’re a very innovative district, and we always jump on board any type of chance to help push the boundaries of transportation,” said Maybee, who has a data background. Before joining DPS, he served as a data analyst for a non-profit, One Earth Future Foundation.
He explained that when HopSkipDrive presented the RouteWise idea, he thought it could work well for the district.
“We partnered with them, signed an agreement to share data, and we worked with them on parts of the tool that would be beneficial for our business. We created basically the whole thing together,” he added.
Corey McMahon, chief product and technology officer at HopSkipDrive, said RouteWise AI officially launched in 2023 and the software “is a planning tool that helps districts make smarter and faster transportation decisions.
“What it does is it analyzes all their data, ridership, vehicles, traffic policies and it gives them customized routing scenarios that can save them time, money, reduce emissions, reduce student time in transit, whatever their district priorities are,” he continued.
He explained that when districts sign on, they’re paired with the RouteWise AI team of experts, consisting of former directors, routers and consultants from the industry. McMahon said the experts sit down with the district to understand constraints, policies and goals. From there, they build out a custom AI model specifically to represent their transportation system.
“That AI model generates thousands of scenarios, and from those produces optimized results based on their priorities,” he said, adding that districts can then adjust, tweak or tune them through their existing tools. The software is routing software agnostic and integrates with the district’s existing routing software.
A new function is the insights dashboard, which compares data points on a national level. It launched at the start of the year and McMahon said it serves as a spot for district leaders to see all their data in one place. Recently, a national benchmark function was added, which gives district leaders a chance to compare student ride times, cost per student, and bus utilization rates against their peers.
HopSkipDrive insights dashboard
Maybee explained that one of the data points DPS looks at on the dashboard is the utilization percentage. “For us, that’s kind of an important thing, making sure that our buses are full and that our buses are being well utilized,” he said.
Another function is its new feature for on-time arrival. “It kind of gives us the overall picture of which segments (segment is one run of service for a school) in our in a route package that are a potential risk for running late, based on the number of students that are on there … depending on the variability of traffic.”
McMahon said the lateness factor is determined by looking at how tight the routes are. “If everything has to go perfectly for a bus to be on time, it has a high lateness risk,” he explained. “If there is flexibility in the system for unexpected events, student comes out late, late traffic, etc., then your lateness risk is lower.”
By implementing the software, DPS has saved more than $500,000 annually. Maybee said the software is primarily being used to evaluate start times and adjust bell times. He explained that all secondary schools recently moved to an 8:20 a.m. or later start time, and DPS used the tool to inform decisions around bell time adjudgments, which resulted in the savings.
“We’ve worked with them a couple more times to look at our current state route packages, and they’ve given us a couple suggestions on merging some routes together, or putting bus packages together into one bus and taking a bus off the road that has saved us money,” he said, adding that the software will also recommend taking one student off a particular route to save time. “Their tool is pretty service agnostic. It’s not going to favor putting students on a vendor over putting them on a yellow bus. Their philosophy is generally, if we make a school district’s transportation system healthy, then there’s a natural spot for [alternative transportation] to exist, because there’s always going to be students that are inefficient in the overall system.”
Maybee added that the software is not meant to replace an existing routing provider or routers.
“We’re never going to lose routers because of this software,” he said. “It’s meant to be an additional set of eyes and a starting point to build routes. There are always going to be things that our routers know that that system does not. I have kids that are better suited to be on a yellow bus, and we put them on a yellow bus, even if it’s quote, unquote not efficient, but it’s the right thing to do for that student’s needs. And that’s something that our routers know and that our computer system is never going to know, but it at least gives you an 85 percent solution to get you in the right direction, to provide you the space that you need.”
Data Driven
As for the safety element of using RouteWise AI, Maybee related back to the lateness factor of the program. “In terms of buses running on time, you’re reducing your risk of danger zone infractions, as students aren’t running to get on the bus quickly or crossing a dangerous street.”
He said the software understands the factors that a router inputs, such as right-side only picks up that eliminate the need for students to cross the street, no highway travel, etc.
“It manipulates routes with the data that you provide, so it wouldn’t put a bus stop, for example, in the middle of a busy street,” he said.
McMahon said the challenge for increased safety is the entire ecosystem from the strain of the school bus driver shortage to inefficient routes. “You have a lot of chaos at pickup and drop off, where you have late routes, you have overcrowded busses or underutilized busses, etc. And so, reducing that chaos, minimizing ride times, and making sure that people are where they need to be, when they need to be there,” he said of elements that make pupil transportation safer. “If you have busses arriving late, you have students waiting in unsafe areas. And there’s a number of safety implications, as you can imagine there.”
Maybee added that by using the software, the amount of time it has taken for the routing team to get the entire school year up and running has been significantly reduced. “We kind of have a starting spot with the solution presented for RouteWise AI, that we can then implement as our base layer and build from there,” he said. “We have massive time reductions within our routing team, which allows them to pay attention to detail better, and allows them to take care of the accommodations and take care of the students that need to be taken care of at the highest level, really providing better equity in terms of our service.”
McMahon said one of the greatest elements of the insight dashboard is the availability of more data. “What we’re really trying to do is build a transportation intelligence platform that allows leaders to look at data from all of these sources as they deploy new technology, whether that’s cameras or telematics or ridership tracking or anything out there, they need a way to make sense of it all, and so that’s really where the dashboard is trying to fit in.”
Maybee concluded by saying there is a fear about AI in student transportation. But he cautioned other districts to not feed into the misconception.
“We’re the content experts, and a computer is never going to fully know what we know,” he said. “And I agree with that statement, but I also think that a computer has a better sense of being able to understand the entire picture and giving a solution that has at least the context of the entire picture that you can then kind of manipulate from there. We were surprised with some of the combinations that it came up with. …It never makes sense to just turn on RouteWise AI have it create things and then just like, spit it out and say, okay ‘Driver, go do this.’ That’s not going to lead to beneficial day-to-day service.”
LOS ANGELES, Cali. -HopSkipDrive today announced the launch of a first-of-its-kind AI-driven transportation planning platform as part of its RouteWise AI software.
This new offering delivers a major advancement to school districts focused on safe, reliable, and efficient transportation options. It provides comprehensive visibility into unlimited scenarios and national benchmarks, with artificial intelligence analyzing thousands of possibilities, including the risk of delays at existing bus stops and the impact of changing bell times.
Launched in 2023, HopSkipDrive’s RouteWise AI software has helped dozens of school districts around the country improve on-time arrivals, reduce transportation cost by up to 20%, and address chronic labor shortages.
For instance, Denver Public Schools implemented RouteWise AI’s suggestion of increasing the efficiency of small vehicles, leading to savings of more than $500,000 annually. And in Colorado Springs’ District 11, efficiency went up 46% when RouteWise AI increased the share of high-utilization bus routes (defined as 30 students or more), using the same number of drivers and addressing the district’s shortage.
“We’ve been working with RouteWise AI to assess our operational efficiency and support our district in sustaining operations through a driver shortage,” said Veronica Schmidt, transportation director, Snohomish School District in Snohomish, Wash. ”RouteWise AI brings together all of our data – ridership, history traffic, route policies and more – to deliver detailed optimization recommendations that aren’t possible with our current tools.”
The new RouteWise AI dashboard gives district leadership insights into the metrics that matter, including student ride times, costs per rider, and bus utilization rates. Users can compare these metrics against national averages, allowing them to benchmark against peers and track improvements. HopSkipDrive’s team of transportation and change management experts collaborate on the best transportation plan for each district that fit into existing routing software or platforms.
In addition, RouteWise AI is collaborating with EZTransportation, a leading transportation management platform, to deliver seamless end-to-end experiences for school district staff. This reinforces the RouteWise AI “Compatibility Promise” to ensure complementary efforts with, and not replacements to, districts’ existing technologies. This includes the range of solutions EZTransportation provides, such as daily route management, school and parent communication, driver management, fleet maintenance, and activity trip coordination.
“School districts often lack the time or resources to quickly analyze transportation data in one place and implement meaningful changes,” explained Corey McMahon, HopSkipDrive Chief Product and Technology Officer. “RouteWise AI bridges that gap, providing schools’ decision makers, board members and other officials actionable insights directly from their existing routing systems to boost efficiency, reduce costs, and ultimately improve student outcomes.”
School districts across the country, including Ohio County Schools in West Virginia, and dozens more, have utilized RouteWise AI. With RouteWise AI and its care-centered transportation marketplace, HopSkipDrive has supported over 10,000 schools.
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 through two core solutions: a care-centered transportation marketplace and industry-leading routing software, RouteWise AI. HopSkipDrive’s marketplace supplements school buses and existing transportation options by connecting kids to highly-vetted caregivers on wheels, such as grandparents, babysitters, and nurses in local communities. RouteWise AI helps schools and districts address critical challenges, including budget cuts, bus driver shortages, and reaching climate goals. HopSkipDrive has supported over 10,000 schools across 17 states, with over 600 school district partners. 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.
LOS ANGELES, Calif. – HopSkipDrive, a technology company solving complex transportation challenges where there is a heightened need for safety, equity, and care, today announced four new safety initiatives designed to further enhance the company’s commitment to safe, reliable student transportation.
Following the recently released sixth annual Safety Report, which highlighted that 99.7% of rides in 2024 were completed without a safety-related concern, HopSkipDrive is introducing new measures to improve critical aspects of student transportation safety.
“These innovations reflect our data-driven approach in continuously improving the student transportation experience from end-to-end,” said Jen Brandenburger, SVP of Safety at HopSkipDrive. “Each initiative addresses a specific aspect of our platform, but together they represent our holistic approach to safety and our commitment to relentlessly raising the bar.”
The four new safety initiatives include:
1. CareDriver Trends – Recently launched, this significant update to CareDriver ride insights replaces previous weekly Success Cards with comprehensive metrics on cancellations, on-time arrivals, missed check-ins, telematics scores, and more – all accessible whenever CareDrivers need them, directly within the app. Located in a new dashboard, CareDriver Trends consolidates safety and experience indicators into an easy-to-understand trends rating, helping CareDrivers further improve their safety and receive actionable insights into their driving behavior.
2. Improved Must be Met Process – For rides where a responsible adult must be present at drop-off, HopSkipDrive is introducing a significant update that will introduce more structured protocols and bring greater clarity and consistency for parents, school staff, and CareDrivers. Ride Organizers will be able to define authorized individual groups and select specific verification requirements, while simplified protocol options for both Ride Organizers and authorized responsible adults at drop-off (meet at car, meet at door, meet inside) will appear in the Ride Organizer and CareDriver apps.
3. Customized Trauma-Informed Training with The National Organization for Victim Assistance – This new partnership with NOVA (National Organization for Victim Assistance) will implement specialized trauma-informed training for Trust & Safety and Safe Ride Support teams. With over 45 years of experience, NOVA stands as the nation’s longest-serving victim assistance organization, bringing unparalleled expertise in compassionate care and support to help further strengthen HopSkipDrive’s ability to better serve students with diverse needs. This new training will be implemented later this year.
4. Dedicated Rider Support Line – Recently launched as a pilot program in the Bay Area, this feature provides riders with direct access to the Safe Ride Support team through a text message sent before each ride, containing a phone number they can call if needed. Riders can connect directly with a member of the team who can provide immediate assistance, offer guidance during their ride, or help resolve any issues that may arise. This pilot will expand to additional markets throughout the course of the year.
At the heart of these initiatives lies a fundamental belief that innovation in safety isn’t just about metrics, it’s about unlocking educational access and opportunity. With each new feature, program, and protocol enhancement, HopSkipDrive strengthens the bridge connecting students to their potential. These improvements build upon the company’s 50+ existing safety products and features, reflecting the reality that reliable transportation is foundational to ensuring students have access to the educational opportunities they deserve. As HopSkipDrive continues evolving its safety framework, the mission remains clear: to create opportunity for all through mobility.
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 through two core solutions: a care-centered transportation marketplace and industry-leading routing software, RouteWise AI. HopSkipDrive’s marketplace supplements school buses and existing transportation options by connecting kids to highly vetted caregivers on wheels, such as grandparents, babysitters, and nurses in local communities. RouteWise AI helps schools and districts address critical challenges, including budget cuts, bus driver shortages, and reaching climate goals. HopSkipDrive has supported over 10,000 schools across 17 states, with over 600 school district partners. More than five million rides over 95 million miles have been completed through HopSkipDrive since the company was founded in 2014 by three working mothers.
Safety is the foundation of everything we do at HopSkipDrive. From our early days connecting families with safe rides to becoming a leader in supplemental school transportation, we’ve remained laser-focused on prioritizing the well-being of every rider. We’re not just arranging transportation for kids; we’re enabling opportunities, and safety is the key.
As pioneers in transparency within the student transportation sector, HopSkipDrive is proud to present our sixth annual Safety Report. Here, we openly share our 2024 safety data and spotlight the innovative steps we’ve taken to enhance our platform and protect our community.
This year’s report reflects our performance in 2024 a year marked by significant growth. We powered over 1.7 million safe rides, with our dedicated CareDriver network traveling more than 34 million safe miles. A remarkable 99.697% of those rides were completed without incident, a testament to the strength of our multi-layered safety processes and the dedication of CareDrivers and the HopSkipDrive team.
We’re setting new standards for safety in student transportation, and are constantly innovating and investing in technology to achieve that goal. Download the 2024 Safety Report now to explore our safety data and initiatives.
LOS ANGELES, Calif. -HopSkipDrive today announced that it is facilitating transportation for students in wheelchair-accessible vehicles in 10 metros around the country, significantly expanding the company’s offerings for school districts and students and raising the bar on transportation for students with disabilities.
School district partners are able to book rides through HopSkipDrive for students in wheelchairs, marking a meaningful step in the company’s efforts to arrange supplemental small vehicle transportation for students of all abilities and ages. Rides are now available in the Bay Area, Colorado Springs, Denver, Los Angeles, Orange County, Northern Virginia, Sacramento, San Diego, Seattle, and Spokane. HopSkipDrive plans to extend this offering to more cities this fall, in conjunction with the 2025–2026 academic year.
HopSkipDrive operates a marketplace to supplement existing services like yellow buses, connecting school districts with a network of highly vetted CareDrivers® in small vehicles to provide support when and where schools need it most, ensuring districts can meet state and federal requirements.
Through the company’s marketplace, wheelchair-accessible vehicle rides are fulfilled through trained, professional local transportation experts, known as CarePartners, who are specialists in providing transportation for students with heightened needs. CarePartner drivers are experienced professionals. HopSkipDrive’s standards don’t end there: the company ensures all CarePartner drivers undergo the company’s comprehensive certification process, including passing name- and fingerprint-based background checks, clearing child abuse and neglect screenings, where available, enrolling in continuous criminal monitoring, completing vehicle inspections, and completing HopSkipDrive onboarding courses covering policies, trauma-informed care, and more.
“We know school district teams are working hard to meet every need for every student and we’re working right alongside them,” said Joanna McFarland, CEO and Co-founder of HopSkipDrive. “With this progress, we’re able to fulfill more rides, backed by our industry-leading technology and an unparalleled approach to safety. We can’t take a chance of a child missing class, field trips, or other opportunities because of existing transportation options that may not be built for them.”
Some of the biggest U.S. school districts, such as Chicago Public Schools, have reported increases in the number of students with disabilities who request, and are legally obligated to, receive school-provided transportation.
“HopSkipDrive wheelchair-accessible rides are so critically important for us to ensure students seamlessly enjoy outings with their classmates, thanks to a safe, reliable provider,” said Jasmine Thompson, manager of operational partnerships, Rocky Mountain Prep Network, a network of inclusive public charter schools serving families in the Denver-metro area.
Districts interested in partnering with HopSkipDrive can sign up here for a free consultation.
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 through two core solutions: a care-centered transportation marketplace and industry-leading routing software, RouteWise AI. HopSkipDrive’s marketplace supplements school buses and existing transportation options by connecting kids to highly vetted caregivers on wheels, such as grandparents, babysitters, and nurses in local communities. RouteWise AI helps schools and districts address critical challenges, including budget cuts, bus driver shortages, and reaching climate goals. HopSkipDrive has supported over 10,000 schools across 17 states, with over 600 school district partners. 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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, who are specialists in providing transportation for students with heightened needs. CarePartner drivers are experienced professionals. HopSkipDrive’s standards don’t end there: the company ensures all CarePartner drivers undergo the company’s comprehensive certification process, including passing name- and fingerprint-based background checks, clearing child abuse and neglect screenings, where available, enrolling in continuous criminal monitoring, completing vehicle inspections, and completing HopSkipDrive onboarding courses covering policies, trauma-informed care, and more.