KidHop started with a simple problem: too many families have no reliable way to get their child home from school. We're building a trusted community of transportation professionals — helping children access opportunity and supporting working families, one route at a time.
In cities across America, school transportation doesn't reach every neighborhood, every schedule, or every family situation.
Some students live just outside a bus route. Others lose their transportation entirely after transferring schools. And some parents work hours that simply don't line up with the school bell.
KidHop exists because every child deserves a safe ride to school — and every parent deserves to know their child is in caring hands.
We bring families together with vetted, professional transportation providers — including independent drivers and licensed companies — and match them along shared routes. The result is a trusted transportation community: dependable, personal, and built around real relationships — not an algorithm dispatching strangers.
Behind every route is a commitment to helping children access opportunity, supporting working families, and strengthening school communities — because dependable transportation doesn't just move children. It creates space for learning, growth, and peace of mind.
JodyAnn Baker knows firsthand what it means to sacrifice for your child's education.
When her family relocated, her daughter transferred schools — and like many families, the new zone school just wasn't the right fit. JodyAnn found a better environment for her daughter, but that decision came with a cost: driving her to and from school every single day in Houston traffic. Anyone who has driven in Houston knows that's not a small ask. Missed meetings, rearranged schedules, and the quiet, persistent fear that one bad traffic day could put her job at risk. For a working parent, that pressure is real.
She didn't see it as a complaint. She saw it as a problem worth solving.
JodyAnn holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from the University at Albany and an MBA from William Jewell College's OneDay program. Before turning to entrepreneurship, she built her career in social services — working at St. Anne's Institute, a youth detention center, and NY Foundling, a foster care management agency. That work gave her a deep understanding of two things: how much a child's environment shapes who they become, and how powerfully community resources can relieve the stress parents carry alone.
She watched parents navigate impossible situations — fighting for the right school, the right environment, the right outcome for their child — only to be let down by a transportation system that wasn't built for their reality. Bus routes that stop short of their neighborhood. Transportation that disappears after a school transfer. Buses where bullying and fighting make the ride itself part of the problem.
KidHop is her answer to all of it.
Rather than building a fleet from scratch, JodyAnn designed KidHop as a coordination marketplace — connecting families with small, licensed transportation operators who already have the vehicles, the insurance, and the experience, but simply need the right clients to make their routes work. It's community infrastructure, designed to meet families where they are.
Because every child deserves to get to the right school. And every parent deserves to get to work.
At its core, KidHop is about building trusted relationships and creating dependable routines. It's about giving working families peace of mind and strengthening the school communities that shape our children's futures.
KidHop partners with two types of transportation providers. Every one of them is thoroughly vetted before ever meeting a child.
Small transportation companies: Licensed operators who already run routes in their community and have the vehicles, insurance, and experience to transport children safely.
Independent transportation providers: Experienced, background-checked individuals who provide dedicated recurring transportation for families who prefer a more personal, consistent arrangement on a set schedule.
Both types of providers go through KidHop's thorough vetting process. Both are held to the same high safety standards. And both are matched based on your location, your child's school, and your family's unique schedule — because your child deserves someone who knows their name, not just their address.
Through these trusted relationships, we create dependable routines that give working families peace of mind and help strengthen school communities — one student, one route, one caring Driver Partner at a time.
Whether you're a family needing transportation or a driver wanting to serve your community, KidHop is building something bigger than routes — we're building trusted relationships that strengthen school communities. Check if we serve your area, reach out directly, or talk to JodyAnn. No pressure. No commitment. Just honest answers from a mom who gets it.
KidHop is growing — one community at a time.