Branford Public Schools Award $60M Transportation Contract to Zum: Transitioning to fully electric school buses within 5 years

Certified bus drivers and new candidates are encouraged to attend March 26 hiring event

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., March 25, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Branford Public Schools (BPS) has awarded a $60 million, 10-year transportation contract to Zūm to deliver efficient and modern transportation to families.

With this decision, BPS students, families, drivers and school administrators will receive state-of-the-art service and peace of mind that comes from Zum's enhanced safety features, transparency and increased technology. Additionally, within five years, Zum will transition Branford to a 100% electric school bus fleet, the first in Connecticut.

"Zum is leading the charge for safe, efficient, equitable and sustainable student transportation nationwide, and we are proud to be partnering with Branford'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 and improving the lives of children, families, drivers and school administrators."

"Student safety is a top priority and safe school transportation is among Zum's hallmarks of excellence. We are excited to shape the path for our students and community by reducing our carbon footprint as we transition to an electric bus fleet with enhanced communication and technology," said Superintendent Christopher Tranberg. "This contract is a win-win-win: Not only will our students and families benefit from Zum's service, our drivers will receive higher wages, work in state-of-the-art facilities and drive brand new school buses. We are thrilled to welcome Zum to Branford and to Connecticut."

Branford Public Schools marks the first school district in Connecticut to partner with Zum, which already manages and operates student transportation in Massachusetts, Maryland, California, Washington, Texas, Illinois, and Tennessee. This year significant operations will launch in Missouri, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. 

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. 

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. Zum's buses prioritize advanced safety features and family-focused service. Zum is also 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 all existing certified school bus drivers and new candidates, with an upcoming event on Tuesday, March 26, 2024 from 9am to 6pm at the New Haven Hotel (229 George Street, New Haven). If you're interested in driving or know someone interested that cannot attend one of Zum's hiring events, 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 modernized 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 Zūm