Pretty much every Mum is a mum on wheels at one point or another, right? Be it at the wheels of the pram, the car, motorbike or whichever form of transport applies in the moment.

Pretty much every parent struggles with child(ren) pick up, drop off times schedules and being stuck at work and has been in a situation where or when nobody at hand can go and do that pick up for them.

Mom on Wheels is a service that answers that struggle.

You may think of Mom On Wheels is a mini cab or taxi for children. You are right…ish. Mom On Wheels is an on-demand and scheduled ride-booking service. They provide a safe and reliable transport service for children aged 4 -18 by drivers who have been thoroughly vetted and have extensive and verified childcare experience.

It is set up and run by a Mum who understands the anxieties that parents face in handing over their children to care-givers; a Mum who understands the stress and hassle of managing conflicting work schedules and the commuting needs of children. These two issues are stress factors which makes parents demand the highest of assurances when they are considering whom to entrust their children to.

Nigerian-born Toni Hull is an incredible woman. Mother of three children, Jayden (Boy 11), Noa (Girl, 5) and Jamie (Boy 2), she is a multitasker that / who has had a broad career as a businesswoman, and a Strategy Consultant in International Development.

I have a consulting company - The Connect Initiative (TCi) – which provides Technical Advisory Services to Developing Countries, Federal and State Governments, Public Institutions, Private Corporations, Philanthropic Organisations and HNIs. My partners and I offer Development Consultancy, Political Consultancy, Project Management and Data Analytics services. We work on projects that meet immediate needs, provide long-term benefits and sustainable results.

Toni is a busy woman; she has three kids and a full time operation running her consulting company and Moms on Wheels.

We asked her to tell us about her normal day pre and post Lockdown, as this period has changed her family routines.

I try to wake up 6am when the alarm goes off. Try to, because sometimes I may have been up all night working on one thing or the other and may have fallen asleep at 4am or 5am, in which case, I struggle to get up from bed – and other times, I may have slept well and get right up, ready to face the day.

I get myself ready, then wake up my kids. Sometimes, they are happy to get up, sometimes they are incredibly grumpy – still, get up they must, have a quick bath and get ready for school drop-offs.

I come back home, do some tidying, do some outstanding work, ensure all the MomDrivers are aware of their schedule for the day – I keep my day free so I can be on standby for MomDrivers who may not be able to make a drive due to unexpected circumstances. It rarely happens but when it does, I’m always available to provide cover for my MomDrivers. I take calls or respond to emails inquiring about our services, prepare quotes and generally ensure I’m on top of all MoM related work. 

My kids usually have extra-curricular activities after school hours, they have a very busy schedule […]. I pick up the kids and we get home 6pm / 6.30pm. We catch up on our day whilst having dinner, go over any homework or home learning set by school. The kids and I came up with a daily schedule of 15 minutes “work” on educational apps […] to earn screen time privileges. We started this over a year ago and they have become used to the schedule. They have an hour of video games / iPad then it’s time for bed.

Post Covid19 – we had more time indoors and more flexibility re school hours and reduced extracurricular activities. During Lockdown, the school moved online to Connected Learning on NewRow where they had lessons and were able to see and connect with their teachers and friends. Now, Jayden and Noa’s school is partially opened and they are both back in school (being in Year 1 and Year 6). They both love being back at school. Jamie too loves being back at Nursery with his little playmates.

Mom On Wheels is an initiative that seems to answer some of Toni’s own struggles as a single mother and freelance businesswoman .  When asked how she came up with the concept she told us:

Like most parents who struggle with doing the school run and getting to work on time; Like most parents who have children at different schools, and have to get the children to different schools in time for resumption; Like most parents with children who have different extracurricular activities at / in different locations and could not be in different places at the same time;

I moaned and whined to my fellow moms that “Wouldn’t it be great to have a reliable and trustworthy person or service who can pick up our children from school, and take them to extracurricular classes and bring them home – so I don’t have to leave work early or rush like a mad hatter from one location to another picking up child A B OR C?”

At some point, it occurred to me that “Why don’t you provide the service?!!!”

The service is addressed to Parents, Working Parents who struggle with the School vs Work Commute – balancing their work commuting and children commuting needs. Not everyone can afford a Driver or Nanny for their children – we step in to provide this need – taking children safely from one location to another.

This is a scheduled service where parents can book a ride for their children for a particular date or time. This can be done on the website. Parents will be required to select the date and time when they need a ride for their children. There is also an option to choose a particular driver and vehicle.

The drivers, MomDrivers are parents who have their own children and are responsible and extensively vetted adults who are very experienced at looking after children. They are stay-at-home parents who want to work around the schedule of their own children. Nurses, Nannies, Babysitters, Childminders, Mature Students, Teachers, Coaches, etc. The one thing they have in common is their love for children and ability to care for them to impeccable standards – treating each child as their own. They all have enhanced DBS clearance and have undergone exhaustive and stringent background checks.

Read all the FAQ about Mom on Wheels here.

Finally, we asked Toni if, as a mother, she thought if the current pick up/drop off times and regulations at schools and activities contribute to make parent’s lives easier.

Most Parents start work at roughly the same time as school starts, some considerably earlier. The transport service may be good in London but it still requires a lot of negotiation and compromises to have late starts to accommodate the school run – both drop-off and pick up, battling rush hour traffic to get to school/work on time. It is a major concern and there is not much that can be done. Flexible working is making it easier to manage the school run, families living close to their children’s school makes commuting less stressful but it is not an option for the majority of parents. No, it doesn’t make parents’ lives easier but we make the best of the situation and try hard to ensure neither suffers.

If you would like to book a ride with Mom on Wheels, you can visit their website or email them on support@mom-on-wheels.co.uk