Should your home daycare provide transportation? We will explore some of the factors that go into deciding whether to offer transportation for your home daycare. And how to develop a home daycare transportation policy if you do so. Plus, provide you with example transportation daycare forms.
First, what do we mean by providing transportation? We are talking about providing transportation in a motor vehicle. Whether, it’s transportation back and forth to school or field trips to the zoo.
Typical Home Daycare Transportation Services
- Before and after school transportation
- Preschool transportation
- Field trips (Zoo, Library, Parks, etc.)
Now let’s look at some of the home daycare transportation costs involved with providing this service.
Vehicle and Car Seat Requirements
Do you have a vehicle that can accommodate the number of children you have in your care? Will you have enough seat belts? Not all of us have minivans with rows of seats. Plus, consider the number of car seats or booster seats you will need. Who will be providing these?
Wear and Tear
It can be a real eye-opener when you add up how much it costs to provide transportation every day. Not only is the price of gas to consider but also the wear-and-tear on one’s car. Also, all extra time spent waiting in traffic or dealing with the dreaded kiss and go lanes at schools!
Before becoming a home daycare that provides transportation, ask yourself the following questions.
How far are you willing to drive? Will you only transport children to and from your neighbourhood school. Or are you willing to drive across town?
How much gas will you be using? Is your vehicle fuel efficient? Calculate the amount of gas you will be using. Will you build in the extra costs into your daycare prices? If so, how much?
Is your vehicle reliable? If your car breaks down, how do you plan on transporting the children? Do you have any backup vehicles you could use?
Insurance
Before deciding on providing transportation for your home daycare, look into the price of insurance. Plus any additional requirements you might need to get. Regulations vary between countries, states and provinces. The extra cost of insurance can be significant and not cost-effective.
You need to be aware that personal auto policies do not cover you for the business use of your vehicle. Depending on who’s insuring you, transporting children could be considered “business use.” Meaning that if something were to happen while picking up or dropping off the kids, you would have no coverage, and it’d cost you out-of-pocket!
Commercial coverage is an option but expensive.
Scheduling Conflicts
Next, take a look at your drop-off and pick-up schedule. Consider when your current clients drop off children and the travel time to school drop-offs in the morning. Will you have enough time?
When do you serve breakfast? Is this going to conflict with dropping off school-aged children?
Also, take into consideration the napping schedules of your younger children. Are you going to wake up sleeping children to pack them up and pick up the older children?
Unlike large child care centers, home daycares have a lot more variables to consider.
Parents Considerations
Next, some parents are not going to want you to drive anywhere with their child. If this is a new service you wish to provide, will your current parents be ok with this decision? Are you willing to lose them as clients? On the other hand, some parents are going to be ok with you driving their children. They may even be excited that you are willing to take their kids on fun field trips.
Some parents are only looking for child care with transportation. Providing transportation could be an opportunity for you in an oversaturated market. Providing services, like before and after school transportation, could set you apart from other home daycares in your area.
Child Care Transportation Policy
In your handbook for parents, you should have a clear child care transportation policy. Your policy should state the purpose for the policy and detail what transportation services you plan on providing. And what service you don’t plan on delivering.
Home Daycare Transportation Policy Example
Example Home Daycare has developed this transportation policy to state compliance with specific requirements stated in local licensing regulations of transportation of children, driver safety, and general supervision of children while being transported in a vehicle.
Example home daycare transports to and from the following schools. (List Schools)
Example Home Daycare has adequate motor vehicle liability insurance and complies with (Local area) Child Care Licensing requirements.
Example Home Daycare Owner/operator has a current driver’s licence and is in good standing.
The following information will also be required:
Transportation contract for daycare – Written parental authorization to transport the child to and from the center.
Home Daycare transportation permission form – Written parental authorization for the child to participate in and be transported for field trips and other activities.
In case of emergency or collision, Example Home Daycare will inform parents as soon as possible.
Home Daycare Transportation Form
