Photo via Facebook.
Photo via Facebook.

HopSkipDrive wants to be the Uber for kids, and now it has some funding to do so.

The Los Angeles-based startup on Tuesday announced a $3.9 million round it raised from Seattle-based Maveron, Upfront Ventures, FirstMark Capital, Built by Girls Ventures, angel investor Joanne Wilson, and others.

hopskipdriveThe company, founded by two mothers, helps kids get from A to B with thoroughly vetted drivers and a smartphone app. It works like Uber or Lyft, but is designed for children ages 7 and up.

Parents can book a pre-arranged ride for $20, with additional fees for extra distance and duration. They can see short bios and a picture for a given driver, and HopSkipDrive provides a code word for the ride so kids know they are getting in the right vehicle. Parents can also track the rides in real time and contact the driver through the app.

Drivers must pass a 15-point certification process, be TrustLine certified, have at least five years of child care experience, and pass background checks.

“Those naysayers said we couldn’t create a scalable business with safety built into every aspect of what we do,” the company wrote in a blog post. “Thousands of rides later, with hundreds of CareDrivers fully screened and fingerprinted and driving on our platform, we are proving them wrong every day.”

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