In exchange for a service, this start-up allows travelers to get their train ticket paid.
The school holidays are approaching but your bank account has turned red… To top it off, you have just checked the different booking platforms, even low cost, and you notice that the tickets are overpriced. And yet, did you know that there is a way to board a train by having someone else pay for the ticket? For a small service, of course…
Provided you love children and know how to take care of them, the site Kidygo offers travelers the opportunity to get paid for a train, bus or plane ride from parents who are looking for chaperones for their children. All destinations, French or European, are possible, whether by train, bus or plane, even if the majority of announcements concern rail journeys in France, between the capital and large provincial cities such as Paris. -Marseille, a Paris-Lyon or even a Paris-Bordeaux, which generally cost more than 100 euros…
If this platform created in 2014 is still little known to the French, it delights students on a low budget and divorced parents! “It’s very often the same type of case. The dad lives in one place, the mother in another. They are separated and are looking for a way to move the child without having to move themselves. And so we bring a child from one to the other”, explains Maëlle to France Info, a student from Lyon who in two years has already had around twenty train tickets paid for via Kidygo. In half of the cases, parents offer a fully refunded ticket. Otherwise, the portion reimbursed varies depending on the date of the trip and when the parents make the reservation.
To become a “KidySitter”, simply register on the site for a subscription of €9.90 per month without commitment (activated only on the first trip made). The site is, however, free for parents. The traveler will provide a proof of a clean criminal record, identity card and photo, and must complete his presentation by adding diplomas, certifications and any significant experience (BAFA, summer camps, childcare, first aid, etc.) in order to reassure parents. Once the profile has been validated, the future companion can then offer train rides and/or accede to parents’ requests.
On the search engine, the ads submitted by parents mention the cities of departure and arrival, the date and times, the number of children to be taken care of during the journey as well as the total or partial reimbursement of the ticket. If you are ready to leave anywhere, it is even possible to not indicate any arrival destination! If a parent is interested in applying, the site exchanges contact details. It is an exchange of good practices which has the merit of being known.