Transportation to/from private school in north Dallas (Plano: daycare, houses)

[3NativeTexans]

Can anybody reccomend a shuttle bus/taxi/car service to take my kindergardener to his private school next year? Obviously, we need someone we can TRUST. My husband and I both work and our son's school is not near either office. We are thinking of moving but want to make sure the school is a good fit before taking the plunge and moving closer to the school. Thank you for any help, pointers, thoughts you might have!

[TurtleCreek80]

Oy, no! Is there a classmate or classmates that you live nearby with whom you could carpool? Could you bend your schedule(s) to drive them just 1 day per week? (or 1 leg each if you can drop off and hubby can pick up?)

Or maybe a classmate has a nanny whom you can chip in on the cost for nanny to carpool your kid, too?

I wouldn't trust any cab / car service to get a 5 year old to school. And the schools don't bus.

[fndmom]

Going My Way - child transportation Plano, kid taxi Plano, Plano Student Transportation

I've seen one of these vans before. I have never used them, not sure I would feel comfortable with a stranger driving my child. Schools can usually provide you a list of other students in your zip code that you could perhaps work out a carpool. Good Luck finding a solution.

[Souleiado]

The only thing I would ever trust is a very good before and after school daycare , that would provide a safe transportation, but it is usually mainly working for public school.
Like TC , I wouldn't trust any cab service.

[frenzyrider]

Smells like a business opportunity... I know peeps have problems with stranger driving the child but what would make people feel safer?
Everybody knows the usual answer - background check, picture ID, registered commercial driver's license, place of work, etc... But what else makes you feel warm and cozzy driving your little ones back and forth from school?

Wonder whether a Uber (www.uber.com) like service may pick up adjacent business opportunity...

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by 3NativeTexans

Can anybody reccomend a shuttle bus/taxi/car service to take my kindergardener to his private school next year? Obviously, we need someone we can TRUST. My husband and I both work and our son's school is not near either office. We are thinking of moving but want to make sure the school is a good fit before taking the plunge and moving closer to the school. Thank you for any help, pointers, thoughts you might have!

1. If you are comfortable doing so - PM me which school.

2. We drove our son from extreme north Plano to Inwood and ~Forest for years - rush hour both ways plus school and club hockey.

3. Move, it's worth the costs, you get one set of kids.

Best of luck.

[TXNGL]

Originally Posted by frenzyrider

Smells like a business opportunity... I know peeps have problems with stranger driving the child but what would make people feel safer?
Everybody knows the usual answer - background check, picture ID, registered commercial driver's license, place of work, etc... But what else makes you feel warm and cozzy driving your little ones back and forth from school?

Wonder whether a Uber (www.uber.com) like service may pick up adjacent business opportunity...

This. Hire someone the same way you'd hire a housekeeper, nanny... . My mother hired a semi-retired lady back in the 70s for school drop-off and pick-up. Seems reasonable to me, you get a driver you know and trust and the driver makes some extra money.

[lplkemc]

Not sure which area you live in, but there is a service I have seen around here. It is called Taxi Mom. They might be able to help find someone at the very least.

How far is the school from home?

[TX75007]

If the school is a good fit, eventually you will move.

I think you are wise to give it a year.

My wife and my MIL did the drive thing, but many parents do carpool. My FIL picked our son up a few times in his DPS uniform which caused a stir the first time. And the other posters have covered the services well.

What you will not get is the daily inputs from the teachers on your kid. Or get to see the body language of the teacher and the other kids. So you should do a pick up or drop off in person at least once a week so you can monitor.

Good luck.

[Neenergoomer]

Ex husband gets to choose the private schools if he pays for them (which I could certainly NOT afford). Years ago, I thought this would be fine....until I found myself taking 1 child to North Dallas, 1 child to Oak Cliff, working in the middle and living in East Dallas. On a good day - in the car for 3 hours. On a bad day now with construction everywhere, or a wreck on the tollway or thunderstorms that knock out power grids and many stop lights....we are in the car up to 4 hours a day! THIS SUCKS! NO - finding a carpool is NOT as easy as some make it sound. Who wants to send their 1 child all over Dallas with you while you go in the opposite direction to pick up kid #2? Who wants to work on a week on / week off schedule with a divorced parent who has split custody of their children. What do you do if the average price of the houses around the North Dallas private school are FAR more than you can afford? Suddenly one realizes what a beautiful thing it is to have 15 minutes to sit down and relax when you get home after work or to simply NOT be screaming like a drill sergeant for the kids to be out the door by 07:00. With such little time during the week, your kids can't do extra-curricular activities or make friends because every minute at home counts & must be used to do homework. The crash from the all-day adrenaline surge once you are finished cleaning up the kitchen after dinner at 10:00 is horrible and I simply cannot pull myself off the couch at times to finish my work that I left undone due to having to leave work early at 4:30 in order to reach the kids on time during rush-hour. Audio books made it better for about a month. Oh... and I am putting gas in my car every 3 days when the kids are with me. ....and what to do when the tornado sirens wail and you are faced with being stuck in rush hour trying to get to the other side of town by the time after-school care ends with the threat of funnel clouds and hail? Remember....you pay by the minute for every minute you are late for after-school care. I'm at the point that I would move into a cracker-box in order to live close enough to make my son ride his bike to school.