Prosper Independent School District Fulfills Specialty Transportation Needs with HopSkipDrive
The Challenge: Finding Reliable Transportation for Every Student
Prior to partnering with HopSkipDrive, Prosper Independent School District in Prosper, TX, faced significant logistical hurdles with student transportation. Roderick Edison, the district’s Dispatcher and Router, highlighted a significant challenge: Urgent student transportation demands frequently diverted staff from their core responsibilities — with office personnel pulled from their duties and bus drivers taken off their regular routes. The manual nature of this process was both stressful and time-consuming, particularly when arranging pickups and drop-offs for students residing in various districts.
The Solution: A Partnership for Seamless Accessibility
Prosper ISD partnered with HopSkipDrive in 2024, choosing the company as its primary transportation partner in 2025. Last year, HopSkipDrive introduced the Rider Assistant program, which enables school districts to book an experienced Rider Assistant to sit in the back seat with the student to provide one-on-one support. Rider Assistants are professionals from local providers working with HopSkipDrive, known as CarePartnersTM. Like HopSkipDrive CareDrivers, Rider Assistants undergo rigorous vetting, including comprehensive background checks.
The Rider Assistant program came as a huge relief to Prosper ISD, where last year it helped to fulfill specialized transportation needs for two students with disabilities who were siblings. HopSkipDrive Rider Assistant rides have proved to be a major stress reliever for Edison and his team, freeing up staff who were previously covering routes and coordinating rides and enabling them to focus on their core responsibilities once again.
Before working with HopSkipDrive, the district tried another service but found it unreliable after students were left stranded. Additionally, the district found that other service’s drivers were very inconsistent in quality. After seeing HopSkipDrive’s approach and safety measures, along with the consistently high quality in HopSkipDrive CareDrivers, Edison developed a strong preference for using HopSkipDrive for Rider Assistants.
“My strong preference is to use HopSkipDrive because of their commitment to safety, ease of use, highly vetted Rider Assistants, and superb customer service.”
—Roderick Edison, Prosper ISD Dispatcher and Router
Caregivers and riders have expressed strong satisfaction with the service through HopSkipDrive. They appreciate that siblings can ride together, feel safe, and arrive on time. While drivers varied, the year-long ride schedule meant the same HopSkipDrive CareDriver was used for approximately 80% of the rides, creating a sense of familiarity and routine for the students and enabling the company to fulfill new rides with just a few hours’ notice
The Results: A More Efficient and Confident Transportation System
The use of HopSkipDrive’s platform, particularly the Rider Assistant program, has saved Prosper ISD staff approximately one to two hours per day on transportation duties, helping them gain time and balance back in their day. This has also allowed staff and bus drivers to focus on their regular responsibilities, saving the district costs by preventing the need for overtime. The district plans to continue using HopSkipDrive as it opens more schools in the future.
Edison sums up the impact of the Rider Assistant program, stating: “This program has been a game-changer for my transportation team. It’s truly transformed how we manage our student transportation needs.”
