IN Peters Township October/November 2017 | Page 63

a BUSINESS
P
eters Township residents, Lori Pollock and Ali Lucas—
both working moms with busy kids—found they were
relying on each other quite a bit for carpooling when their
children’s activities conflicted with their work schedules.
“Ali and I were texting each other for favors all the time,” says
Pollock. “Can you get my kids from the ball field or take them
home from school—things like that. After so many years of
leaning on each other, we joked we should start an Uber for kids.
That was almost two years ago and now we’re in business with
Kid Lift.”
Making the decision to move forward with Kid Lift wasn’t easy.
“We clearly needed help from time to time transporting our own
children, but we really didn’t know how others would feel having
strangers driving their children around town,” says Lucas. “People
are very protective when it comes to their kids and I completely
understand, but we thought with good referrals and having been
a part of the community for almost a decade, we had a chance of
making something of this business.”
With that positive mindset, Pollock and Lucas applied for an
LLC business license and spent considerable time researching
the idea. “We found the U.S. Census Bureau reported 57 percent
of American children between 6 and 17 years of age participate
in at least one after-school extracurricular activity,” says Lucas.
“Given that statistic combined with how many other major cities
offer this service and how involved Peters Township kids can be
in numerous activities, we knew starting Kid Lift was the right
decision.”
Tackling the big issue of safety for Kid Lift passengers was the
first priority. For drivers, they perform a comprehensive driver
certification process, which
includes a criminal and sex
offender record check. They
also ensure all drivers have a
valid driver’s license, are 25
years of age or older, own or
lease a vehicle not more than
10 years old that seats 4 to
7 passengers, have personal
and professional references,
personal auto insurance
coverage that meets or
exceeds state-required limits,
adopt their zero tolerance
policy for smoking, drugs
and alcohol while driving
and adhere to their no
texting/phone usage while
driving.
Lori Pollock (left) and Ali Lucas.
Lori Pollock and Ali Lucas
help the community—one
ride at a time with Kid Lift.
As for the safety of their passengers, Kid Lift will send
notifications via text/ phone upon pick-up and drop-off,
handsfree FaceTime or Skype during aride, text/ email a picture
of the driver to the parent or guardian prior to the ride, speak
the personalized safety word created by the parent/guardian
and child to confirm the pick-up and make available appropriate
booster seats as requested.
“We feel confident we have all of our bases covered when it
comes to the safety of our Kid Lift passengers,” says Pollock. “I
know Ali and I would want the same if we were using this service
for our kids.”
The rates for using Kid Lift are affordable, too. Rides ranging
from one to five miles cost $10; five to 10 miles, $15; and $1
is added on per mile afterward. There are also group fees and
discounts for recurring clients and payment is required prior to
pick-up.
Kid Lift has been transporting children for busy moms and
dads for close to 18 months. “The feedback has been so positive,”
says Lucas. “And we’re just now beginning to get calls from as far
away as the North Hills. It’s really amazing how word of mouth
combined with social media has propelled our business forward.”
Ali and Lori report a steady customer base of 20 recurring clients
with the remaining rides coming from one- time callers. “Our
goals moving forward are to have a larger online presence and
obtain more recurring clients, which is best for scheduling. But
we will never decline our one-time callers if the need is there.”
For more than seven years, these two women have been
lending each other a hand to get their kids where they need to be
while also making life easier for each other when there just wasn’t
enough time in the day. “Ali
and I met as new residents
to Peters Township having
come from Chicago and
New Jersey, respectively,”
says Pollock. “We bonded
because we really didn’t
know anyone else in the
area and now we’re running
a business together. We
definitely lucked out and
are so happy to be able to
provide this great service to
our community.”   ■
Peters Township | October/November 2017 | icmags.com 61