Uber-for-kids is Shuddle's parental pitch

Marco della Cava | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Shuddle provides Uber-like service for children The latest entrant into the ride-hailing market dominated by the likes of Uber and Lyft is called Shuddle, a San Francisco-based company that is focused on ride-hailing for children.

SAN FRANCISCO — The equation is a familiar one these days: Busy working parents plus super-scheduled children equals car-shuttling madness and missed appointments.

A new ride-hailing start-up hopes to improve that calculus. Shuddle, which operates throughout the Bay Area, provides rides to children — post-booster seat age — while promising parents peace of mind through its network of vetted drivers with a range of child-care experience.

The company is still in ramp-up mode after its fall launch, but Shuddle founder Nick Allen says his route to profitability is through a $9 monthly membership plus ride fees that on average are 15% more than Uber or Lyft. Shuddle is being fueled by a $2.6 million-seed round funded by Accel Partners, Comcast Ventures and others.

"We're tailored to busy families who want a trusted option for getting their kids places," says Allen, 36, who first seized on the idea while working at Sidecar, which occasionally had to turn down requests from parents wanting to hail rides for their children. "The idea is just to give everyone more time to do what they need to do."

Shuddle is a prime example of the increasingly specialized nature of ride-hailing options — in New York, a new venture called Via offers $5 shared rides throughout Manhattan — as well as its growing competitiveness. Recent reports even indicate that Google, an early Uber investor, is working on its own ride-hailing app that could be used with its in-progress self-driving cars.

Shuddle's play also expands a niche in the freelance economy. Most ride-hailing and ride-sharing companies contract with male drivers, but at present all of Shuddle's "hundreds of drivers are women," says Allen, adding that each has to pass third-party background and employer checks as well as impress during in-person interviews.

"I don't think I would drive for other services, mainly for my own safety," says Shuddle driver Sally Brien, 54, of San Francisco, a mother of four grown children who serves as a high school tennis team coach. "Besides, I also like being able to plan my day around the rides."

That's because unlike traditional ride-hailing companies which are on-demand, Shuddle requires parents to book at least by noon the day before the needed ride.

Once they do, they're assigned a driver — typically from their general neighborhood — and come time for the lift they can follow its progress on the Shuddle app. Children using Shuddle must carry a texting-enabled phone, which allows them to be contacted by drivers, who share a secret password with the riders to authenticate the pickup.

In the past months, Shuddle has focused on streamlining its operations and overcoming unanticipated hurdles, which include making sure drivers can sign children out of schools. But for some parents, the resulting service has already proven a big help.

"In some ways, this is the worst idea, a company that has to deal with hyper-vigilant, uptight parents all day," jokes Bruce Berrol of Mill Valley, a northern suburb of San Francisco (most of Shuddle's business is in suburbs, says Allen). "But it's saved me."

As a divorced father who works for a large financial institution, Berrol was finding it increasingly difficult to take his teenage son to all his after-school appointments. Now he uses Shuddle up to three times a week. "The first time, I was nervous and texting him the entire ride," he says. "But I find it's a solution that works, whether you're a busy parent or maybe just lazy."

Berrol's initial hesitancy is one of a few hurdles Shuddle will face as it tries to scale nationally, says Brian Solis, principal analyst with Altimeter Group.

"Two things they need to confront head on, one is making sure that through their marketing they make it OK for parents to outsource this sort of role, and the other is to make sure it remains relatively affordable for those outside of wealthy neighborhoods," says Solis, adding that he has put his teens in Uber rides but often was met with frowns from fellow parents.

Solis says Uber could easily swoop in and steal this market share, but "it would have to work on its brand image first," a reference to a number of instances — from sexist ad campaigns to charges that drivers assaulted passengers -- that have plagued but not hobbled the $40 billion global juggernaut. "Uber isn't helping Uber."

But admittedly due to its precious cargo, Shuddle is only one disastrous incident away from a potentially company-crumbling event. Allen acknowledges as much, reiterating a list of unique-to-Shuddle features that include staffers who monitor all rides as they're in progress and insurance specifically covering the transportation of solo minors.

Beyond the background and DMV checks, the company also will pay for drivers to get TrustLine status. TrustLine is a California-based certification process for caregivers that costs up to $170 and uses fingerprints to check for criminal records or moving violations.

"Overall, I know there's a hurdle for many people," says Allen. "Parents have always said to their kids, 'Don't get in the car with strangers.' But we think we can turn that around."

Allen says that if security concerns can be overcome, he's confident that parents will stop feeling guilty about not being able to ferry their kids around. As for his passengers balking at not having mom or dad at the wheel, he's heard otherwise firsthand.

"I did some of the driving when we first launched, and when I picked up this 12-year-old from soccer one day, I asked him what his parents told him the ride would be like," says Allen. "He said, 'They told me I'd feel like an important CEO in the back of a limo.' And I said, 'do you?' He said, 'This is no limo, but I do feel important.'"