and safety go hand in hand.” A spokesperson for HopSkip-
Drive touted the company’s “driver vetting and a suite of technologies and expertise for students with different behav- iors and abilities” and its Safe Ride Support team to create a consistent ride experience. “All HopSkipDrive CareDrivers
Some of our drivers
must have five years of caregiv- ing experience and complete a 15-point certification pro- cess. During onboarding, they complete courses on support- ing students with disabilities and trauma-informed care to account for a wide range of behaviors. We also work with trained professionals that we call CarePartner drivers, who spe- cialize in transporting students with heightened needs, and utilize wheelchair-accessible vehicles to transport students for school, field trips or other opportunities,” the spokesperson said. Beyond the basic criteria of age, driving experience and other requirements, Pawar-LaRosa suggested that screening potential drivers is an art and a science. “Our onboarding process is designed to filter out any driver who isn’t a great fit before we even begin investing in things like sensitivity training, (U.S. Department of Jus- tice) background checks, and health screenings. We’ve been doing this for over 30 years, and our system works. Some of our drivers have been on the same route with the same student for eight-plus years,” she added. “That kind of consistency builds real trust. Parents, students, and schools all feel it. It creates a connection rooted in safety, reliability and care, things you just can’t put a price on. Some of our drivers have even received awards from schools because of it.” In addition to its extensive vetting program, which
have been on the same route with the same student for eight-plus years. That kind of consistency builds real trust.
- Amen Pawar-LaRosa, Pawar Transportation
Company that’s “specifically designed to prepare drivers to meet the unique needs of every student we transport for school districts. “Every single night, we verify
that all drivers are eligible be- fore we send them out in the morning. That’s thousands of drivers being validated daily, before we publish trips,” Bowl- ing continued. “Doing what we do on a small scale, maybe anybody could do that. But on a typical day, we do 15,000 trips and will transport about 21,000 students on a peak day. Our scale is literally the largest in the industry ... and we do not let the scale of the business change what we’re focused on from a safety perspective.”
All the companies spoken to for this article provide
annual retraining for drivers, including behavioral management, and individualized retraining when issues arise. They also emphasize the value of collaborating closely with parents to best understand children’s behav- ior and potential triggers. Each alternative transportation provider has their fa-
vorite stories about their care for children, many focused on the value of predictability that comes with consistent service. For Pawar-LaRosa, it’s the story of a driver who
received an award from school administrators and teachers for her diligence and hard work in transporting a particular student. “They noticed that the student was always really hap-
already includes drug testing and background checks (a California law went into effect on July 1 requiring this and other requirements of alternative transporta- tion companies for students), EverDriven developed its driver training in conjunction with the School Bus Safety
py, and that she, as a driver, would always go above and beyond. ... She did it on her own, and the school rec- ognized and awarded her for that,” she said. “It’s a nice feeling when the drivers are recognized, because most of our drivers are independent contractors and they have other jobs. They’re not able to sustain their living by just working with us for a few hours a day, so we appreciate them very much. Parents do and the school does. It’s just a bonus.”
Listen to the School Transportation Nation podcast recap of NCST with an interview of Iowa delegate David Johnson (episode 258) and the conversation with Oregon delegate Chris Ellison (episode 259) at
stnpodcast.com.
36 School Transportation News • JULY 2025
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