Chrysler,Community | August 14 2017

Minivan Monday: Chrysler partners with family rideshare service Kango

Chrysler, the company that redefined family transportation with the introduction of the minivan more than 30 years ago, continues to advance the industry with the announcement of a first-of-its kind family rideshare service partnership.

The company recently announced that it has partnered with California-based Kango – an app-based, on-demand service that provides safe, reliable rides and childcare for preschool to high school aged children – to make the new Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivans available for use by eligible Kango drivers. Kango will begin deploying the Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid vehicles in San Francisco this fall.

“Parents and children today are busier than ever and often need to be in multiple places at one time. The Chrysler brand is focused on providing transportation solutions for families to make their lives easier,” said Tim Kuniskis, Head of Passenger Car Brands – Dodge, SRT, Chrysler and FIAT, FCA – North America. “Together with Kango, we will make it easier for parents to manage conflicting priorities at work with the knowledge that their kids are being transported to their activities in a safe environment.”

Kango drivers who lease the Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid all have previous childcare experience. They are also Trustline-certified, fingerprinted, background checked, DMV record-checked and screened in person.

In addition to providing extensive driver and caregiver background checks, Kango is the only service insured to drive children of any age. It is also the only kids’ ridesharing service that performs both same-day and pre-scheduled rides, seven days a week, and allows families to meet a driver or sitter beforehand if desired.

These extensive efforts to provide a safe and convenient service for families led Kango to win “Best Uber for Kids” in San Francisco magazine‘s 2017 Best of San Francisco awards.

And now the award-winning Kango is partnering with the award-winning Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid, which is America’s first-ever hybrid minivan and offers best-in-class fuel efficiency along with 100-plus safety and security features.

“Kango is excited to partner with Chrysler to make its new Pacifica Hybrid minivans available to our eligible drivers,” said Sara Schaer, CEO of Kango. “In addition to being a green vehicle with the best mileage of any minivan, the Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid will help us meet the growing demand for shared carpool rides for groups of kids going places. Drivers save money on gas. Kids are delighted with the minivan’s kid-friendly features. It’s a win for everyone.”

Using the Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid for a rideshare service partnership is the latest use for this innovative minivan. This includes a partnership between FCA US LLC and Waymo to modify 600 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivans with self-driving technology.

Find out more about the Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid by visiting the minivan’s webpage.

Edward Cardenas

Hello from the Motor City! I’m Edward Cardenas and I’m multimedia editor for Stellantis. As a lifelong Detroiter, I have been surrounded by the automotive industry. I’ve had members of my immediate and extended family work in the industry. I’ve covered it as a journalist and advocated for it as
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Hello from the Motor City! I’m Edward Cardenas and I’m multimedia editor for Stellantis. As a lifelong Detroiter, I have been surrounded by the automotive industry. I’ve had members of my immediate and extended family work in the industry. I’ve covered it as a journalist and advocated for it as a communications professional. I have also experienced the thrills of the industry while riding in a race car at nearly 200 miles per hour. Having this breadth of experience, I look forward to drawing upon my experiences to bring a wide range of stories, photos and videos about Chrysler, FIAT and Alfa Romeo to Stellantis Digital Media. When I’m not covering my brands, I’m spending time with my wife and two boys.