Your child got into a school across town — how working parents make the commute work in San Diego
One seat, five mornings, same driver, held for the semester. Lottery charters, magnets, Catholic and independent schools from San Marcos to Chula Vista — quoted per route, billed only for the days we drive.
The 8:15 drive she cannot make
A mother in the Torrey Pines High School attendance area works East Coast hours. Her workday starts at 6:00 AM Pacific. The school bell is mid-morning, and her child's pickup is 8:15 AM — a two-mile drive to campus. Two miles is nothing. The problem is the clock on the other coast: 8:15 Pacific is 11:15 Eastern, mid-morning, inside meetings she cannot leave. It is a two-mile drive she cannot make, five mornings a week.
She rides with us two mornings a week right now, not five, because the 7–8 AM hour is the one every school family in San Diego wants and our seats in it are spoken for. What she is buying is not miles. It is the hour at her desk, with the camera on, while a driver she knows texts her “dropped” at 8:24.
That is the whole of this page. Your child got into a school across town — a lottery charter in Liberty Station, a Catholic high school in North Park, a magnet in Rolando, an independent school in La Jolla — and the drive now sits inside the part of your day you cannot move. Here is how working parents in San Diego make it work.
The standing weekday seat
One seat, five mornings, same driver, held for the semester. That is the product. You give us the home address, the school, the bell time and the days; the owner quotes one per-run rate for that route and holds it for the school year. The same named driver runs it every morning the schedule allows, texts you at pickup and at drop, and the route does not change because the weather did.
- Five mornings is the full seat. Two or three mornings is a partial seat and is how most families start, because that is what opens first.
- Afternoons are a second seat on the same account: dismissal, practice, a tutoring center, the second home on a custody week.
- Siblings at two schools ride the same run: each additional stop is +$35 on the per-run rate, not a second booking.
- Billed in arrears, no deposit, no contract — you pay for the days we drive. A school holiday is not billed. Cancel a day by text.
Capacity, honestly
EGT is a small licensed charter carrier with a four-vehicle all-electric fleet and the owners behind the wheel. Every San Diego school bell lands between 7:30 and 8:50 AM, so the morning hour is the constraint, not the number of schools we can reach. A seat in that hour is sold once. When a lane fills we do not stack it; we open a waiting list.
Standing weekday seats are limited and run on a waiting list. Your per-run rate is quoted when your seat opens and is held for the school year; rates step up as seats fill, so earlier families keep lower rates.
If you need five mornings and only two are open today, we will tell you so, hold the two, and move you up as seats open. We would rather you know the shape of it now than find out on a Monday.
Why not an app
- Uber and Lyft have no teen accounts in San Diego. Uber’s 13–17 teen rides run only in Los Angeles and San Francisco and Lyft Teen is not offered here, so a solo rider under 18 is outside both platforms’ terms and drivers cancel.
- HopSkipDrive rotates drivers from a pool; EGT puts one named, licensed driver on your route. The side-by-side is on its own page.
- District buses cover a boundary, not a lottery. A choice school across town is usually outside any route; the who-qualifies page explains the rules.
- A charter carrier is the legal path for a minor riding alone: CPUC TCP #0046494-A, DMV pull-notice monitoring on every driver, drug-and-alcohol testing, $1.5M commercial liability.
We ask only for what the route needs: days, times and your neighborhood. Anything about your student is shared on your terms, once you sign up.
How school runs are priced
Your per-run rate is quoted by the owner for your exact route and held for the school year. One run = one pickup to one drop, up to about 10 miles. Each additional stop adds $35. Waiting beyond 10 minutes adds $1 per minute. Pickups after 8 PM add $15. A single, non-weekly ride is quoted separately from a weekly rotation.
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| One run — one pickup to one drop, up to about 10 miles | Your per-run rate (quoted, held for the school year) |
| Each additional stop (a second school in the same run, a second home, a practice field) | + $35 per stop |
| Waiting beyond 10 minutes (a bell wait, a late practice) | + $1 per minute |
| Pickup after 8 PM | + $15 |
Seats and the waiting list: Standing weekday seats are limited and run on a waiting list. Your per-run rate is quoted when your seat opens and is held for the school year; rates step up as seats fill, so earlier families keep lower rates. Hold your seat early for your school.
Call or text (858) 522-0264 with the addresses, days and bell times and the owner quotes your route, usually the same day.
Every school we run to
Each page has the address, what the school publishes about its bell schedule, the neighborhoods we serve there, and the same pricing rules.
Existing private & high school routes
Cathedral Catholic High School · The Bishop's School · Francis Parker School · La Jolla Country Day School · Santa Fe Christian Schools · Pacific Ridge School · Torrey Pines High School · Canyon Crest Academy · La Jolla High School
Catholic schools
All Catholic schools (cluster page) · School of the Madeleine · Saint Augustine High School · Academy of Our Lady of Peace · Mater Dei Catholic High School · St. James Academy · The Nativity School · Sacred Heart Parish School (Coronado) · St. Charles Borromeo Academy
Charter & choice schools
High Tech High (Point Loma village) · High Tech High Chula Vista · High Tech High North County · The Preuss School UC San Diego · The Classical Academy (Escondido) · e3 Civic High · Health Sciences High & Middle College · Gompers Preparatory Academy · Old Town Academy · High Tech Elementary Explorer · The Museum School · San Diego Cooperative Charter School · Albert Einstein Academies · King-Chavez Neighborhood of Schools · The Language Academy (SDUSD magnet)
North County & Rancho Santa Fe privates
Notre Dame Academy · Horizon Prep · San Diego Jewish Academy · The Grauer School · The Rhoades School · Army and Navy Academy (daily school run)
La Jolla, Coronado & Point Loma privates
All Hallows Academy · Stella Maris Academy · The Children's School · Evans School · Gillispie School · Christ Church Day School · Warren-Walker School
High-income public high schools
Point Loma High School · Coronado High School · San Dieguito Academy · La Costa Canyon High School · Del Norte High School · Westview High School · Scripps Ranch High School · Rancho Bernardo High School
Also: the school-run hub · private & high school routes · for working parents · two homes, one school · teen & minor transportation.
Questions parents ask
Is there a waiting list for a standing school-run seat?
Yes. Standing weekday seats are limited and run on a waiting list. Your per-run rate is quoted when your seat opens and is held for the school year; rates step up as seats fill, so earlier families keep lower rates. If you need five mornings and two are open, we hold the two and move you up as seats open.
What exactly is a standing weekday seat?
One seat on one route, the same named driver, five mornings a week (or the two or three that are open), held for the semester and billed only for the days we drive. Afternoons and siblings sit on the same account.
How much is it?
Your per-run rate is quoted by the owner for your exact route and held for the school year. One run is one pickup to one drop (up to about 10 miles); each additional stop adds $35, waiting beyond 10 minutes adds $1 per minute, and pickups after 8 PM add $15.
Can my teen take an Uber or Lyft to school in San Diego?
No. In San Diego, Uber and Lyft have no teen-account option (Uber's 13-17 teen rides run only in Los Angeles and San Francisco; Lyft Teen is not offered here), so an unaccompanied rider under 18 is outside both platforms' terms and drivers cancel. EGT is a licensed charter carrier (TCP #0046494-A) and runs school routes with a parent as the account holder and one named driver.
Our school is a lottery charter with no bus. Do you cover it?
Yes. Lottery and magnet schools are most of this page: High Tech High's three villages, Preuss, e3, the Language Academy, the Museum School and the rest each have their own route page linked above.
Can one run drop at two schools?
Yes. A second school in the same run is one additional stop: your per-run rate + $35. If the second bell means a wait beyond 10 minutes, it adds $1 per minute.
Get a school-run quote
Tell us the school, the days, times and your neighborhood. The owner quotes your route, usually the same day.