RideAlong’s fully-vetted and dedicated team of drivers relieves pressure on parents and organizers, ensuring athletes have safe and reliable transportation for practice and games.
A new partnership between Major League Soccer’s New York Red Bulls Academy and RideAlong, a safe, dependable and affordable transportation alternative for young riders, promises to be a game changer for professional teams, youth sports and families alike.
Under the partnership, RideAlong will provide a team of fully vetted and dedicated drivers to service end-to-end transportation for Red Bulls Academy players. Partnering with RideAlong, Red Bulls Academy secures an essential need allowing the Academy to focus on training – not transportation – without relying solely on families to provide daily rides to and from training and matches.
“RideAlong is a gamechanger for us,” explains Ryan Brooks, Sr. Manager Academy Business Operations. “Our older teams train in the afternoon so it’s a challenge for families to drive to, and from the Red Bull Training Facility. It’s also staggering the amount of time parents spend in the car driving their kids to daily training. We found a solution with RideAlong as they focus on transporting children in a safe and reliable way.”
This is RideAlong’s first partnership with an MLS academy, though the company has been serving individual families, schools and sports teams in 13 markets nationwide since it was founded in September of 2019. Through RideAlong, the Red Bulls Academy will transport up to 40 players ages 14 to 18 along planned routes with the ability to scale to meet additional needs. Players will be picked up from central locations within their communities and driven up to 75 miles each way to the training facility in East Hanover, New Jersey.
RideAlong will maintain the same drivers and vehicles to ensure consistency and a high comfort level with parents and the Academy. Within the vehicle, drivers and players adhere to COVID-19 safety standards including PPE, sanitation and proper social distancing in compliance with CDC guidelines. RideAlong will further work to minimize COVID-19 exposure risk by utilizing hand sanitizer, cleaning and disinfecting procedures between each ride and daily confirmation that both drivers and passengers are asymptomatic or have not been exposed to COVID-19.
“As the world adjusts to a new normal, safe youth transportation is imperative. Our mission and values at RideAlong are to build a safe and sustainable company that addresses the real needs of the communities we serve: families, teams, schools, hospitals, and non-profits,” says RideAlong Co-Founder, Norbert Sygdziak. “This partnership with the Red Bulls Academy demonstrates the scalability of our affordable and customizable alternative to traditional youth transportation services. We believe this service will be utilized by many schools, youth sports teams, and other youth-oriented organizations nationwide, as the need for safe transportation for our children increases daily. We are proud to have partnered with a first-class organization like the Red Bulls. We look forward to growing with the RBNY community.”
There are a number of key differences between RideAlong and traditional rideshares. In addition to focusing on transportation for children and teens, RideAlong is designed to be a long-term trusted solution that organizations and families can depend on for the entire sports season, school year or summer. Rides are never crowded, and pickups are scheduled by location and age group. This reduces the amount of time a child spends in the car and assures that the child’s RideAlong buddies are similar in age. What’s more, RideAlong drivers undergo a comprehensive background check, random drug testing and extensive field testing and training. Many RideAlong drivers hail from a law enforcement or transportation background and all are committed to their communities and to the safety of children.
Utilizing RideAlong technology, parents, teachers and coaches can know their kids’ whereabouts and exchange important information in real time. RideAlong’s proven model prioritizes safety, affordability and reliability that benefits the families, schools, teams and communities it serves.