“Transportation is a big barrier for DPS and parents,” she said.
She resigned from the district last year, but she carried the needs of the students with her as she founded The Youth Luxury Shuttle, a transportation solution for many students in Dayton and surrounding communities.
The business drives kids to and from their public school, charter school, daycare or other location. The shuttle service started last spring but fully launched during the 2024-2025 school year. About 60 individual students were transported to and from around two dozen locations in that period, Brandon said.
“I really didn’t know that it would be this big and this much of a needed service in our community,” said Brandon, 34, of Moraine.
Leigha Donelson wasn’t very comfortable with the transportation provided by her oldest daughter’s school. She and her husband were searching for a solution that worked with their schedules when she ran across an advertisement for Brandon’s shuttle service. Donelson has found the service flexible, dependable and affordable.
“That’s one less thing we have to worry about,” said Donelson, who was one of several people to nominate Brandon as a Dayton Daily News Community Gem. “It’s been very helpful this school year.”
Her 10-year-old daughter, Khari, likes the drivers that take her to and from Valerie Elementary, Donelson said, and the Dayton woman plans for her younger daughter to use the shuttle in the future as well.
Morning routes typically start between 6 and 6:30 a.m., Brandon said. Most clients are parents of students at private or charter schools that don’t provide transportation. Others simply want a more reliable source of transportation, or a ride home for their kids from their afterschool program.
Kids have ranged in age from 3 to 17, she said.
The Youth Luxury Shuttle is expected to give rides to a limited number of kids in the summer while Brandon looks toward the next school year, when she anticipates the numbers to double. Eventually she would like to get a van for the business and an app for parents.
Those interested in the service can email info@theyouthluxuryshuttle.com or find the business on Facebook or Instagram.
As of earlier this year, the shuttle service employed six drivers – including Brandon herself – and is looking for more. In addition to transportation, drivers aim to provide a nurturing afterschool environment for the kids, helping them wind down, Brandon said.
Brandon, who also works as an administrative assistant at the University of Dayton while pursuing a bachelor’s degree there, aims to be flexible for parents and their children, even creating the drivers’ routes by hand.
“I don’t want it to feel like a machine or a robot,” Brandon said. “I want it to feel personable.”
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