By Guest Blogger Elizabeth Pennell, founder of LuRoos

How many times have you had to invoke “divide and conquer” parenting?

Josh needs to be picked up from his charter school but you both work.  Or, Chase has batting practice at the same time Lauren needs to be at dance but you don’t want to make Alyssa miss her best friend’s birthday party. What’s a busy family to do?

Mom-vans, move over! There’s a new ride in town to get you kids safely where they’re going. Meet LuRoos! In fact, you might want to welcome them in to your inner circle. LuRoo’s was created by a Greensboro mom to provide premium safe, dependable curbside transportation to relieve the stress of demanding schedules on families.

Elizabeth Pennell is the driving force behind Greenboro’s only shuttle for children.  “I’ve had more than my fair share of days where I just didn’t know how we could be everywhere at once,” Pennell says. “LuRoo’s truly is one of the inventions born of necessity.”

Like many families, the Pennells did their best juggling kids’ activities, work schedules and family obligations. “But,” Pennell adds, “you have those times when one parent is traveling, or grandparents aren’t available, and you have the most amazing friends but can you really ask another favor?”

A lot of thought went in to creating LuRoo’s. Safety, of course, comes first. Drivers are extensively background checked to make sure they have clean driving records, no criminal history and high praise from previous employers. They are all highly experienced with children and must maintain CPR and first aid certification. LuRoo’s provides continuous education on ethics, customer service and professionalism and performs random drug testing and DMV checks.

“It was like the clouds parted and the sun shone through!” says Allison Manning when she first learned about LuRoo’s. “But it wasn’t until we met Elizabeth and understood how diligently she’s addressed every possible concern that we actually felt excited about putting our trust- and our children- with LuRoo’s!”  She adds, “To be honest, we started using LuRoo’s out of necessity and found out really quick that the value of their service for our lives and family was much greater than we ever anticipated.  We will continue to use LuRoo’s!!”

LuRoo’s utilizes Mercedes passenger vans outfitted for both comfort and safety. Parents can opt for either regular, ongoing door-to-door service, or just a monthly membership that helps with as-needed basis requests.

And much like your daddy used to say to your date in high school, “He better not just pull up and honk!” LuRoo’s drivers understand trust is fundamental to the company’s success. They get to know teachers, parents, tutors, sports and activity leaders and all of those they encounter during pickup and drop-off.

There’s a high level of accountability and communication. LuRoo’s has a proprietary system that keeps all children, drivers and transportation organized.  Parents (and older students) receive an alert when the driver is headed toward their pick-up location. When the student boards the van, he or she is checked in through our state-of-the-art system and another alert goes out to the parent letting them know that the child has been safely picked up and is in route to their destination. Once the student is at their stop, the parents get a second alert that the child has been delivered safely, depending on the pre-agreed drop off instructions.

“We rely on the trust of parents, local schools and service providers,” Pennell says. “If we are to be seen as the go-to source for safe child transportation, we have to go above and beyond each and every day, each and every trip, to show them our highest level of transparency, integrity and reliability.”

While LuRoo’s was created primarily with kids in mind, the service meets a myriad of other options, ranging from senior transportation to corporate or group entertainment needs. Whether you need to get an aging parent to a doctor’s appointment during work hours, want to enjoy a corporate retreat without putting folks on the road after an evening of open bar, or just want to go out with friends for the evening without worrying about driving and parking, LuRoo’s is ready to roll.

LuRoo’s has partnered up with several local organizations to help parents with transportation to their programs.  Proehlific Park, Greensboro Children’s Museum, and the Center for Visual Arts are a few of the programs.  Stephanie Beasley at Proehlific says “We are so excited to partner with a locally owned company for transportation.  This service will help some parents get their children to our program that wouldn’t normally be able to attend due to transportation constraints.”

While Greensboro is the debut market for LuRoo’s, franchise opportunities will be available in the near future in other markets.

LuRoo’s Transportation
Greensboro, NC
336-554-7333
www.luroos.com
www.facebook.com/luroosinc

 

*Sponsored by LuRoo’s Transportation