Fast Company Names Zum to Its 2025 World's Most Innovative Companies List for Modernizing Student Transportation

Company Recognized for Its AI-Driven Technology Platform and Safe, Reliable Service Nationwide

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., March 18, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Zūm, the leader in modern student transportation, today was honored on Fast Company's list of the World's Most Innovative Companies of 2025.

The annual list recognizes companies across the world that are moving the needle for business and culture. Zum ranks at No. 3 in the Sustainability category on this year's list.

"We are honored to be recognized on Fast Company's prestigious list of Most Innovative Companies for our work in modernizing student transportation for families, schools, and school districts across the country," said Ritu Narayan, CEO and Founder of Zum. "Our innovations have transformed the safety, efficiency and reliability of the school bus system, with the added benefit of improving grid reliability and resiliency using vehicle-to-grid technology to power the grid with electric school bus batteries. We're grateful to our partners who share our commitment to reshaping the future of the industry."

"Our list of the Most Innovative Companies offers both a comprehensive look at innovation today and a playbook for the future," said Fast Company editor-in-chief Brendan Vaughan. "This year, we recognize companies that are harnessing AI in deep and meaningful ways, brands that are turning customers into superfans by overdelivering for them, and challengers that are introducing bold ideas and vital competition to their industries. At a time when the world is rapidly shifting, these companies are charting the way forward."

Zum unifies parents, students, school administrators and drivers on a single personalized end-to-end technology platform, enabling never-before achieved levels of visibility and data-backed accountability. Through the Zum app, parents can 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.

The company made history in 2024, when Zum launched the nation's first fully electrified school bus fleet in Oakland, California. The 74-bus Oakland fleet is also equipped with groundbreaking vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology, enabling the buses to return energy to the grid at scale. The all-EV buses, which send 2.1 gigawatt hours of energy back to the grid annually, improves grid resilience during times of peak demand.

Zum currently serves thousands of schools across 14 states, including districts in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland; Boston; Seattle; Spokane; Nashville; Omaha; Kansas City, Mo.; Howard County, Md.; and more.

To determine honorees, Fast Company's editors and writers review companies driving progress around the world and across industries, evaluating thousands of submissions through a competitive application process. The result is a globe-spanning guide to innovation today, from early-stage startups to some of the most valuable companies in the world.

The complete list of Most Innovative Companies can be found at https://www.fastcompany.com/most-innovative-companies/list. It will also be available in the Spring print issue of Fast Company beginning March 25.

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.

About Fast Company
Fast Company is the only media brand fully dedicated to the vital intersection of business, innovation, and design, engaging the most influential leaders, companies, and thinkers on the future of business. Headquartered in New York City, Fast Company is published by Mansueto Ventures LLC, along with our sister publication Inc., and can be found online at www.fastcompany.com.

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

SOURCE Zūm