Disclosure: Sponsored post. See below for special Shuddle discount code for Techmamas readers!
One of the biggest challenges for families is the minute by minute, ever-changing scheduling of driving kids to and from school, after school activities and everything in between. With a mix of minimum days, school holidays, after school activities, homework, sick days, sports and medical appointments, no two days are the same. Assembling a weekly transportation schedule is like putting together one of those 1,000 piece puzzles, and while I’m a master project planner (My Parent Plan), scheduling can be a challenge.
I decided several years ago to work out of the home for several reasons, including the flexibility to drive my kids around. Now that my three boys are getting older and I can keep track of their location by calling their phones, I feel the time is right to go back to working outside the home. As I am planning this transition I realize the biggest challenge is transportation for my tween sons (twins). Several of my friends confirmed that they, too, have the same problem.
When Shuddle contacted me to work together on a (disclosure) sponsored post, I said, “How did you know that I have been looking into transportation options?” The fact they contacted me happened to be a coincidence because I had independently planned to try their service. Shuddle is a rideshare service designed specifically to transport busy families with drivers that have caregiver experience. They undergo an extensive verification process (national criminal background checks, motor vehicle records check, employer reference checks, in-person training and vehicle inspection), plus live monitoring and support for every ride. I started my transportation hunt by looking into hiring a driver on my own, but the verification process was complicated and some information was hard to find. Shuddle’s verification process is a huge benefit.
The steps to start using Shuddle and scheduling a ride are straightforward. The flexibility of having until midnight to book a ride for the next day is helpful. One key requirement is that riders must have a mobile phone in order for drivers to reach them. Even if your kids don’t currently have phones, there are a great selection of budget basic prepaid phones that have the ability to call and text. All of my kids started out with those types of phones anyway. Shuddle currently operates in the San Francisco Bay Area (Marin, Berkeley, Oakland, San Francisco, Burlingame, San Jose, Palo Alto, Menlo Park and Mountain View).
Shuddle has an iOS and an Android app to enable managing and scheduling rides easily on the go.
As much as the transportation features offer great value, I also appreciate the flexible employment opportunities Shuddle is providing to women. Here are some of the interesting facts about Shuddle:
- “Shuddle has given thousands of rides and has a community of more than 200 female drivers, 80% of which are mothers themselves.
- In contrast to other companies garnering praise for having 30% of their workforce composed of women (Lyft), Shuddle’s community of all women drivers is unprecedented.
- Shuddle is one of the only companies in which women are at the forefront of the ride sharing economy and is proud to be presenting an economic opportunity for them.
- To make money with other rideshares, you really need to drive Friday and Saturday nights, and so there are understandably concerns about safety. That isn’t the case with Shuddle and whose value proposition speaks strongly to women.
- Shuddle rides can be scheduled by midnight the day before, giving drivers the opportunity to know who they are driving before they get in their car.
- There are no late-night rides or rides with potentially threatening customers, etc.
***********DISCOUNT OFFER TO TECHMAMAS READERS***************************
If you would like to try Shuddle, use the code TECHMAMAS to have one free ride up to $20 in value
To sign up, CLICK HERE to load either the Shuddle iOS or Android Shuddle app.
To learn more about Shuddle (such as passenger requirements, driver screening and the ride experience), visit: http://shuddle.us.
Disclosure: Sponsored post. My words are my own.
