The suburbs west of Boston are united on several fronts, among them expensive homes on idyllic back roads and an insatiable quest to vote anyone with the name Kennedy into office. The people here also drive their children to school in high-end cars, and this is where a Boston startup called Sheprd sees opportunity. Instead of Mom and Dad driving?or, heaven forbid, making the kids ride a bus?a shiny Land Rover will whisk them to class in the comfort they deserve.
That Land Rover LR4 with the school-bus sign is real, and the drivers are full-time employees who must pass the same licensing as actual school-bus drivers. For $17 a ride, any K-12 child in Newton, Massachusetts, can take a Sheprd to summer camp, dance class, music school, the YMCA, or another 14 educational institutions in town. Kids get a leather-lined, air-sprung ride with Kindles and booster seats. Parents can impress other parents with their impeccable taste in chauffeurs. (The uniformed drivers are paid a minimum of $20 per hour, wear ID badges, and must pass a Breathalyzer before each shift as well as undergo random drug testing, in addition to a physical and a criminal background check.) Really, though, founder and CEO Nick Jasset said Sheprd is a more reliable, safety-intensive alternative to Uber or other kid-friendly ride-hailing services like California’s HopSkipDrive. “It’s the convenience of an Uber with the trust and security of a super-premium school bus,” Jasset told C/D.
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