Kansas City Public Schools Enters Into Transportation Agreement with Zum

Missouri District Partners With Zum to Deliver Safe, Modernized Transportation to 14,000+ Students

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., March 21, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Kansas City Public Schools (KCPS) has entered into an agreement with Zūm, the leader in modern student transportation, to deliver efficient and modern transportation to local families.

With this decision, the district has chosen safer, greener and more reliable transportation services for its school community. Through Zum, KCPS students, families, drivers and school administrators will receive state-of-the-art service and peace of mind that comes from enhanced safety features, transparency and increased technology.

"School transportation plays a significant role in children's lives, and we are privileged to be partnering with Kansas City's school community," said Ritu Narayan, Founder and CEO at Zum. "We look forward to working with them starting in the 2024-25 school year to deliver safe, efficient and more equitable service."

"Zum's proven track record, along with its enhanced communication and equity-focused decision making, will greatly benefit our students, families and drivers in Kansas City," said Dr. Jennifer Collier, superintendent of Kansas City Public Schools. "We appreciate their commitment to safety, efficiency, transparency, and student-centered approach, and are excited to partner with them."

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.

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 a 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.

Additionally, Zum is committed to working with KCPS and key stakeholders to develop a plan to transition the school bus fleet to electric. Zum 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 in electric school bus conversion.

School bus drivers are at the center of Zum's service. Zum offers higher wages and modern benefits for all drivers and staff, as well as top-of-the-line buses, equipment, and technology to enhance safety and comfort for students and drivers and make drivers' day to day jobs easier and more enjoyable. Zum supports its drivers and staff with advanced training and certification programs to ensure they not only meet or exceed all state and federal requirements but also receive extensive ongoing training in customer service and transporting students with diverse needs and disabilities. Zum is a "Great Places to Work" certified company and takes pride in becoming a "choice employer" in any city where it has partnerships.

Zum holds regular local driver hiring events for certified school bus drivers and new candidates, with an upcoming event on Wednesday April, 3 and Thursday, April 4, 2024 from 9:00am to 6:00pm at the Courtyard Kansas City Country Club Plaza (4600 Mill Creek Parkway Kansas City, MO 64112). Zum encourages and welcomes all existing drivers as well as new candidates to attend. If you're interested in driving or know someone interested that cannot attend one of Zum's hiring events, please apply here.  

Zum manages and operates student transportation in Massachusetts, Maryland, California, Washington, Texas, Illinois, and Tennessee with significant operations launching this year in Nebraska, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Connecticut. 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]

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SOURCE Zūm