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takyon [soylentnews.org] writes:

An Uber-like company intended to transport kids will shut down [marketwatch.com]. Shuddle claimed to have used a more stringent background check process than competitors like Uber and Lyft, offered real-time monitoring of rides for parents, and allowed drivers to check kids out of things like afterschool activities:

San Francisco-based Shuddle Inc., an on-demand ride service for children, said it would shut down operations on Friday, a move that comes after failing to raise more venture capital. The company had raised $12.2 million in funding but struggled to attract more in a cooling funding environment. The company had 32 full-time employees as well as a network of contractors it called "driver-caregivers."

[...] The shutdown hits after venture capital funding in the first quarter of 2016 declined 25% from the previous quarter, according to industry tracker Dow Jones VentureSource. Investors are growing particularly wary of services in the on-demand sector, which saw a surge of investment following the popularity of services like Uber Technologies Inc. Services in this sector have subsidized money-losing with venture capitalists' dollars.

A snippet from the company's letter to customers [techcrunch.com] (emphasis mine):

On behalf of the entire team here at Shuddle, we are saddened to inform you that Shuddle will be ceasing operations and closing business as of end-of-the-day Friday, April 15th. We worked hard to find the financial resources that would allow us to continue to grow, but ultimately could not raise the funding required to continue operations.

[...] We hope our drivers find new flexible work opportunities that you enjoy, and we take our hats off to our parent customers who work so hard everyday to help their kids get safely to school, home and fun.

Also at the San Francisco Chronicle [sfchronicle.com]. The New York Times has an article [nytimes.com] about similar services such as HopSkipDrive, Zum, and Kango.

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