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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>Do you provide transportation?
supermom 05:12 AM 08-26-2014
I have been thinking of providing transportation for a while now. What are the ups and downs of providing transportation?
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Blackcat31 05:17 AM 08-26-2014
Personally, I do not transport kids.

Thankfully, it's rare in my area for a child care to transport children.

I don't because of the liability factor. I don't care to borrow any more of it than necessary.

Plus, the insurance required on my vehicle would far outweigh the positives. Way too expensive.

I'd also need a small bus as I have 10-12 DCK's every day.
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Cat Herder 05:20 AM 08-26-2014
Downs=

1. Many parents do not want their kids to leave your property and will go with a provider who does not transport.

2. The new regs for transporting daycare kids are very difficult. Driver plus one if ""A". Driver plus two if "B". Plus one must be 16 years old if "A". Plus two must be 18 years old if "B"......

3. The normal parent issues with transporting. Late arrivals. Early arrivals. Early pick-up. Weather/School closures. Ratios. Maintenance issues. Insane Transporting Insurance Costs....

Ups =

1. You can take your own kids to school.

2. You can take a group of kids out on field trips into the general public.

IMHO, the ups are not worth the downs.
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Play Care 05:28 AM 08-26-2014
Originally Posted by shntbeal:
I have been thinking of providing transportation for a while now. What are the ups and downs of providing transportation?
I transport to preschool ONLY. Unfortunately in my area this is the "norm" and you can gain/lose clients on this.

You need to make sure your car insurance covers this. I have State Farm and they do. Many will not though, or will require you to get a CDL, etc.

You need to make sure you have car seats for every child - do not rely on parents to provide this.

You have to check with your state regs as many have additional requirements for transporting. (this should probably be at the top )

I am NOT a fan of providers transporting willy nilly (because they are bored, or forgot to do their grocery shopping on the weekend, etc. etc.) I DO believe in pre-planned field trips that benefit the kids in your program. Child centered, LOCAL trips.
I had a terrible experience when my own child was an infant in dc with the provider transporting her without knowledge or permission, so I am very upfront with my policy on transporting.
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cheerfuldom 05:38 AM 08-26-2014
I think its too much hassle and liability unless you have the staff to do it and it results in a great increase in enrollment. No sense doing it if it only results in one or two more kids but you will lose that many just from parents not wanting their kid to be in a car all day.

That said, I do it but only for my own kids. I have a small group and all families coming in know that I do have to do some school runs although most are handled by a family friend that I pay. I would not offer this to other families, it is a pain doing it for just my kids with the daycare kids in tow.

I also provide all car seats.
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supermom 06:51 AM 08-26-2014
I have been really struggling with the insurance part. Seems that alot of the companies I called can't do insurance for an in home daycare. All of the children I have their parents drop off and pick up. However, from time to time I get a call from a parent who needs transportation. Then there is the cost of insurance. You all are right its best not to do it at all because the bad outweighs the good.
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Play Care 07:36 AM 08-26-2014
Originally Posted by shntbeal:
I have been really struggling with the insurance part. Seems that alot of the companies I called can't do insurance for an in home daycare. All of the children I have their parents drop off and pick up. However, from time to time I get a call from a parent who needs transportation. Then there is the cost of insurance. You all are right its best not to do it at all because the bad outweighs the good.
I would NEVER provide transportation because a parent couldn't manage drop offs and pick ups.
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AmyKidsCo 08:17 AM 08-26-2014
NO WAY!

For me it's just too big of a hassle. To transport right now I'd need 5 car seats (6 in 2 weeks when my new girl starts). If I had a vehicle big enough (which I don't, and we can't afford) they'd need to be taken out every night so my family could use the vehicle. Not to mention getting kids in and out snowsuits, boots, etc in the winter.
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cheerfuldom 09:10 AM 08-26-2014
yeah it is not worth it for one kid. loading and unloading all those kids is a pain and if you have a lot of littles or kids that are runners, it gets complicated and dangerous.
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mom2many 09:24 AM 08-26-2014
I take a 7th grader to school every morning. The school is several miles away and there are no buses. I watch his baby sister, so they both get dropped and I take him 30 min later.

I also pick up two dcgs from school...again no buses! Both school's offer after school care on site, but parents don't want them to have to stay at school all day & prefer a home environment.

My hubby is here in the am for school drop off & comes home in the afternoon, as well for pick up.

I charge $5/to drop off at school daily, so it helps pay for the gas...but if I wasn't already watching his sibling, I wouldn't bother doing it!
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DaveA 10:33 AM 08-26-2014
I provide transportation to/ from Pre-K. It's pretty much a given for providers in this area to do so, and not doing so will cost a provider enrollments. I make sure that if I have more than one child in Pre-K they are in the same session.

I guess I'm odd, but my program practically runs on going places. Aside from "big field trips" (zoo, nature center, children's museum) we go to all types of places. We go to the library every other week (maybe more), farmer's market almost weekly during the season, and farm store or pet store for animal needs. Plus if we need something for the center from art supplies to something different for meals or snacks, we go get it as a group. Just so many impromptu learning opportunities to pass up.

I will stress double checking about insurance-some policies offer coverage but a lot don't. I'm covered & it stuns me the number of providers who transport without it.
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spinnymarie 10:54 AM 08-26-2014
Nope.
Not enough money in the world for me to transport 12-14 DCK anywhere.
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Daycare Insurance 11:00 AM 08-26-2014
Originally Posted by shntbeal:
I have been thinking of providing transportation for a while now. What are the ups and downs of providing transportation?
Whenever you transport kids you are increasing your liability exponentially. Mainly because you cant control the other drivers on the road. From an insurance standpoint its a very big grey area. Technically personal auto policies do not cover business transportation. To be fully covered for transporting kids you really need to have a commercial auto policy. These are generally not very cost effective just to transport children to and from school etc.

Some Child Care insurance companies, DCI included, sometimes offer what are known as transportation endorsements which offer coverage for bodily injury for the children if you are in an accident. However unless you have a commercial auto policy you will likely not have coverage for your vehicle or another parties if it is damaged, or any coverage for injuries to you or any other parties.

I realize it sounds bleak but it is only because the danger is so elevated. With multiple children in a vehicle and the unknown variables on the road makes for a difficult risk to cover.

If you do decide to transport children, it can be a great feature of your business, and if this is the case for you, I highly suggest making sure you are properly covered.
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melilley 11:10 AM 08-26-2014
Originally Posted by spinnymarie:
Nope.
Not enough money in the world for me to transport 12-14 DCK anywhere.
and I can only have up to 6!

It would be so nice to be able to get out and do things, but my kids are 3 and under. No thanks!
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Lucy 11:14 AM 08-26-2014
This Summer, we've been gone more than home. (Five kids, Ages 6-11)

During the school year, they walk to/from school (around the corner), but I will take/pick up if it's raining.

Done it for probably 15 of my 20 years - that's when I got the first mini-van.
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llpa 11:47 AM 08-26-2014
I would like to do so but can't afford it. So I focus on bringing the fun to us
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supermom 12:50 PM 08-26-2014
Truth is I love that the children are picked up and dropped off everyday, one less thing I have to worry about. I Just hate to turn away kids, especially when I need them.
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BrooklynM 01:14 PM 08-26-2014
I only did for one of my DCM. This is the same mom that has been extremely generous with me. When she was pregnant with baby #2, I took DCK #1 to and from their house almost everyday, just for about a month when she was on bed rest.
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proudmommyofthree 02:20 PM 08-26-2014
I transport to and from a couple of schools. We do not have buses here either. So many parents around my area need before and after school transportation. Plus I take my own kids to these schools so it works for me. I'm like the bus stop in my neighbor hood. I pick up the first set of middle school aged kids, drop them off at the corner of my house, and they walk home from there. I then drop one child off at her home. I then go back to the elementary school and pick up another 4-5 children along with my youngest and drive back to my house. I provide before and after school care. I charge $5 one way, $7 round trip.

If we had buses in my area, then I wouldn't do it. But since we don't and I have to pick up my children anyways, I offer it.
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Mister Sir Husband 06:49 PM 08-26-2014
Same here as some.. I transport to the preschool if needed, but it's under a mile. I will do field trips, but only with permission slips signed by all the parents.

I actually had an interview with a woman who was 100% against transporting. I told her no problem as the school can be walked to, and field trips don't need to happen, us just something I like to do but no one will care if I don't. I did however tell her that I have 2 kids in school across the road and 1 in the next town over.. and if the school calls cause one of my kids is sick and needs to be picked up.. we're all going for a ride. 😊. She didn't agree. Her daughter is NOT going anywhere in my car.

Her daughter is currently not in my care 👍
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Play Care 09:19 AM 08-27-2014
Originally Posted by shntbeal:
Truth is I love that the children are picked up and dropped off everyday, one less thing I have to worry about. I Just hate to turn away kids, especially when I need them.
How are they getting to work, if they are not able to transport to dc? Is it just for convenience? Because door to door is nanny service, not dc. I also would be hesitant to do that for families with out a vehicle or who frequently have car issues because that smacks of irresponsibility (part of being a grown up with a job is having a reliable form of transport) and how long until they don't see paying me as a priority...

I would start out how you want to proceed - meaning don't start anything you know you won't want/be able to continue down the road. When you do finally get other kids, their parents are not going to be happy that their kid has to go pick up special snowflake's kid. It will start to be a large burden but you will hesitate to term because they were your first family or you agreed to do it or you need the money, etc. then you get resentful and burn out.

Like BrooklynM, I *might* provide transport for a long term client that has been good to me - I've never minded going out of my way (if possible) for my families with established relationships. But that's a whole other deal, IMO.
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