For many running parents, balancing paintings with getting children to high school or activities is an all-too-acquainted or even overwhelming undertaking.
It might imply arranging a carpool or taking day without work paintings to get one or greater children domestic from school or football practice or drama membership. But what if arranging a journey changed into as smooth as the clicking of a button?
That’s the idea of riding Connecticut-primarily based business enterprise VanGo, which strives to be the “Uber for children.”
Unlike other experience-sharing apps, VanGo’s functions are tailor-made in particular to parents, with heavy background assessments of drivers, GPS monitoring of rides and advance scheduling.
Starting Monday, Dallas mother and father may be capable of use the app to time table rides for kids, ages eight to 17, for after-faculty practices, journeys or visits with friends. Families not quite ready to give up carpool schedules can also set up a couple of residence pickups.
“We’re an employer built for running mothers,” founder Marta Jamrozik said.
For Jamrozik, it’s near domestic. She turned into stimulated by using her own mom, who served as both primary breadwinner and the person doing most of the people of childcare and housekeeping.
The service is designed to assist parents with preteens and teenagers who need one-off assist, in place of a full-time babysitter or nanny.
“We wanted to be that in-among solution,” Jamrozik said.
The app launched a year in the past in Fairfax County, Ct., before expanding this summer season to Phoenix, Houston and now Dallas. Thousands of dad and mom use the app, with peak instances earlier than faculty, and after college between 2 p.M. And 10 p.M.
Pricing runs approximately 15% to 20% higher than other ridesharing apps like Lyft or Uber, but Jamrozik said that supports features like a stricter vetting procedure.
Drivers are required to have as a minimum three years expert childcare enjoy, undergo an extensive background take a look at, fingerprinting, reference assessments and automobile inspection. All are impartial contractors and 85% of drivers are mothers.
Through the app, mother and father can tune live places from choosing as much as drop off. Once an experience is booked, it additionally shows a complete profile and gets in touch with information for the driving force. Favorite drivers may be decided on, and they’re provided experience requests first.
Dallas can have new drivers added each week, in component to ramp up for the approaching school year. For now, mother and father ought to book as a minimum 24 to forty-eight hours earlier, however, Jamrozik expects this time frame will lessen as the business enterprise expands.
Jamrozik has lofty desires for the provider, hoping to be in every essential metro within a few years. She’s raised $270,000 in seed investment from well-known accelerator Y Combinator, consistent with Crunchbase, a database that tracks startups.
New locations are being introduced primarily based on hobby degrees. Users in places where the carrier is not but available can download the app to a specific hobby. The app is available in each the Apple keep and the Google Play save.
