Kidcaboo to the Rescue; New Service to Transport Children Rises to Meet Demand

Childcare related costs continue to rise across the country, creating great challenges for working parents, particularly working mothers. Transportation for children is one of the top challenges for parents in the workforce.

 In Connecticut, 1 in 4 working households have children that are under the age of 6, yet Connecticut was recently ranked the 8th most expensive state to hire a nanny.

In January of 2019, Rebecca Lock believed going back to working her dream job once her children were in school would be a smooth transition, but she couldn’t be more wrong. Lock struggled to find a nanny at an affordable price that would be able to drive her kids to where they needed to be. She soon found that she was not the only parent to have this issue.

Lock is now the founder and CEO of Kidcaboo, launched to respond to the absence of such affordable services. Over the course of the pandemic, Lock and her team worked to create Kidcaboo, an app that allows parents to schedule safe and affordable rides, whether they are recurring, or spontaneous. Kidcaboo is licensed and insured, operating in Arizona, North Carolina, and Texas, and as of July 1, in Connecticut. There are plans to expand further, into other states, this fall.

Since beginning operations in Connecticut - the company’s fourth state - this month, Kidcaboo is building up a Driving Nanny team to meet the demands of the waitlist that quickly has formed.

“Traditional ride-sharing does not work for kids,” said Lock. “It was hard for us to evolve a system that works so well for the population.”

 Unlike Uber or Lyft, Kidcaboo uses the same 1-3 Driving Nannies for each child. Parents and children get to know and fully trust their Driving Nannies. Children build a close bond with their Driving Nannies, according to Lock. 

The Driving Nannies themselves must be at least 19 years old with a minimum of 3 years of care experience, and a clean personal and driving record. Each prospective Driving Nanny also goes through an in-depth screening process, multiple interviews, and extensive safety training. 

While children up to the age of 17 can use this service, children need to be old enough that they no longer need a 5-point harness car seat. Ideally, the age minimum is 5 years old, but for some children, they may have to wait somewhat longer to use the service.

Parents have access to live GPS and monitoring systems, which Lock believes are two of the main safety features that differentiates Kidcaboo from other ride-sharing apps and keeps children safe. Kidcaboo also offers dual-facing dash cams, which adults have come to love. Kidcaboo wants families to have full transparency of their child’s transportation, Lock explains.

Driving Nannies are better off working for Kidcaboo, rather than Uber or Lyft, according to the company.  Kidcaboo pays significantly better, as Driving Nannies make a minimum of $15 per ride. Additionally, driving for Kidcaboo offers some regularity in the driving schedule. The service is more expensive for the riders, but Kidcaboo is safely transporting children and that comes at a premium, they add.

“We have communication channels. We know every detail of every child before they get into a ride with us,” Lock explained.

Lock explained that there is abundant communication between her team, the Driving Nannies, the children, and the parents, so that everyone can be on the same page.

“I think moms need this more than anyone,” said Lock.

In most families, women are primarily responsible for taking care of the children, as well as many other household responsibilities. With the widespread expectation that women also can work full time, it can become challenging.

Kidcaboo was launched to be a solution to getting children from one place to the other when parents are unavailable. Parents, but especially working mothers, can have the chance to work and take opportunities that may have otherwise seemed out of reach by using Kidcaboo, according to Lock.

Kidcaboo is for everyone, but specifically families with working parents. When Lock dreamed of going back to work when her children began school, she forgot about the playdates, after school activities, and clubs that her children would need rides to.

“The school day is not consistent with the modern-day work schedule,” said Lock.

With the pandemic fading away, and parents and students going back to work, school, and activities full-time, there is lots of demand for Kidcaboo. The team anticipates further demand with the school year only months away.

While this is an issue in Connecticut, Lock believes this to be a problem nationwide. She is taking steps to expand Kidcaboo to families in cities across the country who are in need of its service. Kidcaboo is preparing to launch in additional states this upcoming fall, but her dreams don’t stop there.

Lock hopes that families across the country can utilize Kidcaboo, so that parents don’t have to make sacrifices when it comes to career or family life. With how successful the business has been thus far, and with how much parents love the service, Lock is confident this goal can be achieved.

To sign up with Kidcaboo, visit https://www.kidcaboo.com/thekidcabooapps, which will have a link to the downloadable app. Many parents, like Lock, want to do it all, but soon realize that it takes help to get everything done. Kidcaboo is designed to help relieve some of that stress by offering safe and affordable transportation for children.

This article was reported and written by Sarah Klepack, an intern at CT by the Numbers from Trumbull and a rising junior at Endicott College pursuing studies in communication and digital journalism.