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Modern student transportation provider announces expansion of SPED Safe partnership and more new features
REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Oct. 20, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Zūm, the leader in modern student transportation, is recognizing National School Bus Safety Week (Oct. 20-24) with several new safety features designed to ensure all children experience safe, reliable rides to and from school.
More than 500,000 school buses transport 27 million students in the U.S. each day, making it the nation’s largest mass transit system. Zum’s 360-degree approach to safety prioritizes students’ safety and well-being before, during and after every ride.
“I started Zum with a mission to increase safety on the school bus for all children — including my own,” said Ritu Narayan, CEO and founder at Zum. “Our state-of-the-art technology and equipment, along with industry-leading driver training curriculum, raise the bar for school bus safety while increasing reliability and transparency for parents and schools.”
An Expanded Partnership with SPED Safe
Zum’s partnership with SPED Safe offers specialized driver training programs to enhance safe environments for all students, especially individuals with disabilities. Through a new expansion of this partnership, SPED Safe experts will create four additional training modules informed by Zum customer feedback. More than 7 million children across America have disabilities, and, for many, school transportation provides their only access to education. Zum is committed to providing all drivers and staff with industry-leading, evidence-based preparation to support all students.
This curriculum encompasses behavioral science, reinforcement strategies, an overview of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the importance of structure and routine, de-escalation tactics and effective communication. This helps drivers to better understand how to provide more personalized care and ensure transparency, a critical component of Zum’s model.
Updates to State-of-the-Art Safety Technology
Zum’s industry-leading safety technology is continuously being updated. New product features rolling out at Zum locations nationwide include:
- An enhanced incident reporting system that enables capture of data from any vehicle or rider incidents that includes the route, time, location and involved parties. This streamlined digitized process saves time and provides digital traceability versus a paper-based approach, and having consistent, detailed data allows for better analysis and preventive measures.
- Real-time integration between camera systems and Zum’s fleet management platform that automatically maps drivers to their assigned vehicles and allows dispatchers to instantly know who’s behind the wheel during any incident or alert. This feature creates accountability and traceability for vehicle operations and enables proactive coaching based on real-time events.
Zum’s vehicle safety technology is designed to keep students safe from the moment they get on the bus until they are back home. All drivers are required to adhere to specific safety protocols while picking up or dropping off students and while driving, including a pre-trip and post-trip Daily Vehicle Inspection Report. Drivers are also equipped with a GPS-enabled tablet that provides real-time route updates, personalized information on every student’s needs and easy-to-use incident reporting capabilities.
For families, the Zum App allows parents to see real-time information about vehicle location and their child’s pickup or dropoff status, along with a profile of their child’s driver.
Comprehensive Training for All Zum Drivers
Zum’s innovative driver training curriculum exceeds county and state requirements. During Zum’s qualification process, drivers go through an extensive background check and a comprehensive driving test. Once verified with Zum, drivers participate in a multi-module training course, which Zum developed with industry-leading safety experts as well as its in-house team of state-certified trainers.
During National School Bus Safety Week, Zum will hold events at its bus yards nationwide and recognize drivers with outstanding safety records.
To learn more about how Zum is working with thousands of schools across the nation to modernize student transportation, please visit Zum’s website.
About Zūm
Zum is a modern transportation solution transforming school transportation, the largest mass transit system in the U.S. Today, the company provides turnkey modern transportation solutions to school districts in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, Utah, and Virginia, and is expanding rapidly nationwide. Recognized globally for its innovative transportation and energy as a service platform, Zum has been featured among Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas, CNBC Disruptor 50, CNBC Changemakers, World Economic Forum and Financial Times’ Fastest Growing Companies. Learn more about Zum at www.ridezum.com.
CONTACT:
Jenny Mayfield, Vice President of Communications – [email protected]
SOURCE Zūm
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