I’m part-time so the flexible hours are everything — I do a 9–12 block after the 7:45 drop-off and hop back on 5–7 if the kids don’t have practice. How are other parents timing shifts to be home by the 3:00 pickup, and do you aim for quests/boosts or just keep it simple?
On school days I flip on destination mode toward the school at 1:45 so any pings pull me closer, and I save quests for Fri/Sat. It consistently gets me to the 3:00 pickup, though I do give up a couple rides. @OP do you have destination mode in your market?
I set the max-trip limit around 1:30 to 20–25 minutes so I don’t get dragged out, and my rule is “nothing I can’t be back from by 2:45.” I save quests for Fri/Sat when grandparents do pickup; if the filter kills pings I toggle it off for a bit — @cwalker42 your timing tip pairs well with this; do you have the trip-length toggle?
Building on @mark_joh64, I switch to delivery-only after 2:00 and keep to a 2–3 mile bubble around the school using the upfront drop-off info, so I’m packing backpacks by 2:50 like Cinderella’s carriage at curfew. Do you have reservations/scheduled pickups in your market — grabbing one that ends near school by 2:30 has been a handy safety net.