ShuttleCub is a child transportation service designed to help busy NYC parents get their kids safely and reliably to school, activities, playdates, and more. You tell us what you need, and we will match you with a reliable "Bear" to safely chaperone your kids where they need to be - on time, every time. While ShuttleCub Bears are not drivers, and we do not operate our own vehicles, our highly trusted Bears help kids get around the city on foot, by bus, subway, taxi, or rideshare (e.g., Uber, Lyft).

We specialize in transporting school-aged children, starting at 6 years old. To ensure safe & happy ShuttleCub runs, we require children to have a certain level of maturity in terms of following directions, communicating needs, and feeling comfortable with trusted (though not all that familiar) adults.

ShuttleCub is primarily focused on serving families in Manhattan, where our dedicated Bears provide reliable transportation for those living, working, or whose children attend school in the area. This allows us to foster hyper-local trust and community first. That said, depending on Bear availability, we do extend service to the outer boroughs (e.g., Brooklyn, Queens) to accommodate specific run requests wherever possible.

ShuttleCub operates every weekday during regular hours of 8 am to 8 pm. That said, based on demand, we have introduced extended hours — 6 to 8 am and 8 to 10 pm — to ensure maximum flexibility for families. Plus, we have now extended operations on weekends to make it even easier to keep up with activities and outings. Whatever your needs, ShuttleCub is here to support your family’s busy schedule as best as we can!

Our Bears are thoroughly vetted, background-checked, and reference-checked individuals who have undergone training to provide safe and dependable transportation for children. They escort kids via foot, subway, bus, taxi, or ride share, based on each family's needs. Bears are highly trusted people who have flexible daytime schedules. They maintain the autonomy only to pick up runs they want / that their schedule permits. Check out our Bear Spotlight here!

ShuttleCub does not provide drivers or operate private vehicles. Our Bears accompany children on foot, using public transit (bus, subway), taxis, or ride services (e.g., Uber, Lyft), ensuring safe, efficient, and reliable travel around the city.

All first-time families must create an account profile before scheduling their first run.

While our app is in development, here's how to schedule a run:

1. Simply let us know your child’s shuttle needs via our Google Form and we’ll match your run with a trusted Bear Runner. Run details must include: Time | Location | Child | Mode of Travel | Specific Instructions for each stop of the run.

2. Once a Bear has picked up your run, and you have confirmed the Bear, your run is officially confirmed, and you will receive a calendar invite with run details embedded.

3. The day before your run, a chat will be initiated between you & the Bear, to confirm final run details and enable pre/during-run communications.

4. Throughout the actual run, you will receive live notifications from the Bear, a GPS tracking link to be able to track your child's route in real-time, as well as photo verification of your child's safe arrival at each stop of the run - all to provide you with maximum peace of mind knowing where your child is at any point during the run.

5. You will receive an invoice within 24 hours of run completion, except for recurring daily runs, which we invoice weekly.

6. You make payment via Venmo (@shuttlecub) or Zelle (charleen@shuttlecub.com).

* Standard Run: $40 for the first 30 minutes during our regular hours (8am - 8pm). Runs extending beyond 30 minutes are billed at $10 per 15-minute increment.

* Special Hours: 1.5x Standard Run Rate during 6–8 am and 8–10 pm.

* Last-Minute Requests: Runs requested with less than 24 hours' notice will be charged at 1.5 x Standard Run Rate.

* Multi-Cub Run: Runs with more than 1 child per Bear will be charged as follows: 2 Cubs 1.5 x Standard Run Rate; 3 Cubs (max) 2 x Standard Run Rate. (Family discount available for siblings)

* Recurring Runs: Monthly subscription/surcharge to guarantee Primary bear and backup Bears for every recurring run.

- 1 run/week: $20/month surcharge

- 2 runs/week: $40/month surcharge

- 3 runs/week: $60/month surcharge

- 4 runs/week: $80/month surcharge

- 5 runs/week: $100/month surcharge

* Additional: Optional budgets for snacks, taxis, or car services can be pre-approved by parents and will be added to your invoice with receipts uploaded for full transparency.​

Invoices are sent after each run, and payments can be made via Venmo (@shuttlecub) or Zelle (charleen@shuttlecub.com).

Email us at info@shuttlecub.com as soon as you know you need to change your submitted run details.

There is no extra charge if you make changes to a run with a start time > 24 hours away.

However, we charge a penalty of $15 per change if you make changes to a run with start time < 24 hours away AND the change involves a run time change of >60 minutes, because this either inconveniences the confirmed Bear in terms of scheduling, or we need to scramble to find you a new Bear at the last minute.

For example:

There is no penalty for cancelling runs > 24 hours from the run start time. However, runs cancelled within 24 hours of the run start time will result in a full forfeit of the run base cost.

Absolutely! We know life is full of routines—whether it's piano lessons, soccer practice, or that standing Tuesday ice cream tradition (priorities!!). To make things easier, customers can schedule recurring runs up to three months in advance. For each recurring run, we establish a "Bear team" with a Primary Bear and 1-2 Backup Bears. Whenever possible, we strive to provide consistency and match families with familiar Bears to build trust and comfort.

You can request up to 3 preferred bears when you submit a run. Whenever possible, we will strive to provide consistency and match families with familiar Bears to build trust and comfort. However, since our Bears ultimately have full autonomy to choose the runs that fit their schedules, we may not always be able to match families with their desired Bear.

For recurring runs (e.g., weekly, daily), we do assign a dedicated Bear team comprised of a Primary Bear + 1-2 Backup Bears. This is to ensure comfort & familiarity for families, while allowing our Bears some flexibility in terms of not having a singular person take on all runs every week.

For safety and manageability reasons, we allow a maximum of 3 Cubs to be escorted by a single Bear on a run. Cubs may come from different households, and we term these runs "Multi-Cub Runs".

Terms & conditions for such runs:

- Run stops must be exactly the same for all Cubs (i.e., no separate stops for some Cubs & not others)

- The primary parent submits & confirms the run request and is responsible for full run payment on behalf of the group

- Each Cub family involved must set up a ShuttleCub account profile, not just the Primary parent.

- Because each additional child adds complexity, heightens vigilance, coordination and responsibility, pricing for a Multi-Household Run is as follows:

*Special family discount for siblings

Safety is our top priority and a core pillar of the ShuttleCub philosophy. Every Bear is interviewed, background checked, reference checked, and thoroughly trained (virtual + multiple in-person shadow/observation runs). We only hire Bears we would trust to shuttle our own children. We consistently monitor Bear performance on each run, and ensure the highest quality standards of Bears are maintained at all times.

All runs are tracked with real-time notifications, GPS tracking, and photo verification at every stop. We personally monitor and track every run - both before and during the run - to ensure every run is safe & smooth.

ShuttleCub has contingency plans & standby teams in place to handle any situation. To the best of our ability, our dedicated team ensures that your child is always safe, comfortable, and arrives at their destination as planned, barring circumstances beyond our control.

While ShuttleCub's primary focus is on destination-based support (i.e., getting your kids safely where they need to be), we understand families may have additional needs such as transition supervision or babysitting, which we may be able to offer. If you're considering Bear-led help beyond transportation, feel free to reach out / include that in your run request -- we’re happy to clarify what’s possible within our platform boundaries.

In order to submit a run, all new families will need to set up an Account Profile here.

Once your account is set up, use our simple Run Intake Form to tell us exactly what you need.

Alternatively, sign up your family on our 'Contact' page and learn more about our services. We will reach out within 24 hours to answer your questions and better understand your needs!