Santa Barbara Unified School District Partners with Zum for Safe, Modern Student Transportation

California District Joins National Movement to Improve the U.S. School Bus System

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Feb. 28, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Santa Barbara Unified School District (SBUSD) has awarded a $30 million five-year transportation contract to Z?m, the leader in modern student transportation.

The decision is part of a rapidly growing movement by school districts to provide a safer, greener and more reliable transportation solution for students, drivers and families. Other districts that have partnered with Zum for school transportation include Los Angeles Unified School District, the second-largest district in the country; San Francisco Unified School District, Seattle Public Schools; Howard County Public Schools; Oakland Unified School District; and Metro Nashville Public Schools.

"Santa Barbara has a diverse and passionate school community that puts its students first," said Ritu Narayan, Founder and CEO at Zum. "We are honored the district is partnering with Zum for its student transportation, and we're eager to work with families, drivers and school officials to deliver safe, equitable, sustainable and modern service."

Zum's state-of-the-art buses prioritize advanced safety features and family-focused service. Through the Zum app, parents will be able to view the complete profile of their child's bus driver, along with real-time tracking and notifications about their school bus location and their child's pickup or dropoff status. Zum also allows administrators to optimize routes and provides staff with real-time data and performance reports, facilitating transparent, data-driven decisions regarding student transportation.

Additionally, Zum is committed to working with SBUSD, county and state officials and key stakeholders to develop a plan in the next five years to transition the school bus fleet to electric. Through its Net Zero Initiative, the company is leading in electric school bus conversion.

Zum supports its drivers and staff with advanced training and certification programs to ensure they not only meet and exceed all state and federal requirements but are also well-equipped and extensively trained in customer service and transporting students with diverse needs and disabilities.

Founded and led by a first-generation immigrant and mother, Ritu Narayan, Zum is challenging the status quo in school transportation, the nation's largest mass transit system. It is the first and only 100% carbon neutral student transportation company in the U.S., and, through its Net Zero Initiative, the company is leading the industry in electric school bus conversion.

Zum holds regular local driver hiring events for certified school bus drivers and new candidates, with an upcoming event Thursday, February 29, 2024 at 9:00am to 6:00pm at the Hilton Garden Inn (6878 Hollister Avenue, Goleta, CA). If you're interested in driving or know someone interested, please apply here. To learn more about how Zum is working with thousands of schools across the nation to deliver safe, reliable and modern student transportation, please visit Zum's website.

About Zum:
Zum has reimagined student transportation, the nation's largest mass transit system, and developed sustainable ways to charge the grid. Zum's robust operations and integrated end-to-end cloud-based platform provides a modern student transportation service for school districts purpose-built around the needs of kids and the expectations of modern families. Zum provides one seamless, real-time interface for parents, drivers, schools, districts, administrators, and operators to transport children safely and with increased visibility and personalized care. Always investing in the wellbeing of communities, Zum is also the only carbon neutral student transportation provider in the nation with plans to go Net Zero with its transition to EV electric buses. Zum is available nationwide, serving more than 4,000 schools across the U.S. Learn more at www.ridezum.com.

CONTACT:
Jenny Mayfield, Vice President of Communications - [email protected]

SOURCE Z?m