When Ritu Narayan was building her career in Silicon Valley, she found herself trying to juggle getting her kids around town. Companies like Uber and Lyft legally can't transport unaccompanied minors, so she created her own solution.
Zūm is a rideshare service that caters specifically to busy parents. They hire drivers with experience in childcare. Parents can send their kids from point A to point B with well-vetted drivers, who can also act as nannies.
Rides start at $16, and go up from there, depending on the length of the trip and the length of childcare needed. Currently, Zūm is only available in the San Francisco Bay Area. Co-Founder and CEO Narayan says the company plans to expand to Southern California and other major markets, like Chicago, in the next year or two.
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