By: Sam Cliff
“Traveling with young kids is hard enough,” says Nelson Nigel, Founder of Kidmoto. “Finding a car service with safe, installed car seats shouldn’t be.”
Kidmoto, a specialized branch under Moto Nation, began in 2017, when Nigel saw a major gap in airport transportation. Families with small children had limited, unsafe options. Taxis and ride-shares rarely offered car seats. Bringing your own was a burden.
The problem was clear. No one was putting safety first for traveling families.
From Taxi Driver to Tech Founder
Nelson Nigel’s path to founding Kidmoto was far from typical. He is an immigrant from Guyana who grew up in a working-class household in Queens, New York. After the 2008 financial crisis derailed his career in construction procurement, he became a taxi and Uber driver to make ends meet.
He also survived a catastrophic accident as a teenager: struck by a moving New York City express train. He suffered a cerebral hemorrhage, endured brain surgery, and woke from a coma after several weeks.
Most people would have given up. Nelson didn’t. He saw every setback as temporary.
“I don’t make excuses,” he says. “You fall, you get up. That’s it.”
While driving taxis, Nelson observed the same challenge again and again: exhausted parents struggling to transport children safely. That observation sparked an idea.
Solving a Real Problem for Real Families
Kidmoto is a mobile app that matches traveling families with vetted, trained drivers who arrive with properly installed car seats—customized for each child’s needs.
It solves a very specific problem with a simple and powerful solution:
- Avoid the risk of unsafe, unrestrained rides
- Eliminate the need to lug car seats through busy airports
- Ensure peace of mind at every stage of travel
Kidmoto now operates in 50 U.S. cities and has completed more than 45,000 rides. The service has earned top ratings—4.9 on Trustpilot and 5.0 on TripAdvisor.
The success lies in understanding one key truth: most transportation platforms are not built with families in mind.
Built to Serve Underserved Communities
Kidmoto is part of a larger mission under Moto Nation Technologies. This parent company is focused on serving niche markets that large platforms often overlook. While Uber and Lyft chase mass-market dominance, Moto Nation goes small—by choice.
Moto Nation currently offers:
- Kidmoto: Safe airport transportation for families with children
- Babymoto: Specialized transport for newborns and infants
- Busmoto: Transportation for airline crews, cruise staff, and public health providers
These apps serve communities that require more than a generic ride-share. Moto Nation builds customized, safety-driven travel solutions where none previously existed.
Strategy with a Purpose
Nelson is realistic. Competing with transportation giants is not the goal. Instead, he focuses on the 0.1%—the underserved portion of a trillion-dollar market.
“There’s so much money in transportation,” he says. “Uber can’t do it all. We go where they don’t.”
Moto Nation also builds technology for government procurement logistics. While this segment will likely drive future revenue, Nigel insists the heart of the company will always be Kidmoto.
“Kidmoto is the face. It’s what people connect with,” he explains. “The app shows what we believe in—safety, service, and family.”
Resilience and Responsibility
Nigel’s entrepreneurial journey is marked by persistence and purpose. He has launched businesses that failed. He has worked 70-hour weeks. He has pushed through financial hardship, racism, and health challenges. Through it all, his focus remains on delivering real solutions to real problems.
He leads from the front and builds for people who are too often forgotten by the system.
Kidmoto represents more than a company. It is a symbol of resilience, safety, and trust.
As families continue to seek safe and stress-free ways to travel with young children, Kidmoto is ready—and growing.
For Nelson Nigel, putting kids first isn’t a tagline. It’s the foundation of everything he builds.
Published by Liz SD.
