Palm Springs Unified School District Partners with Zum to Modernize Student Transportation

California District of 20,000+ Students Awards 5-Year Contract to Zum for Safe, Modern, Tech-Enabled Transportation

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., March 25, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Palm Springs Unified School District (PSUSD) has awarded a 5-year transportation contract to Zūm, a leader in modern student transportation. The decision signals the California district's commitment to a safe, efficient, tech-enabled and more equitable solution for students and families.

PSUSD serves more than 20,000 students in 28 schools. Beginning in the 2025-26 school year, this partnership with Zum will enable the district to deliver superior service built around the needs of PSUSD students and families along with the teachers, administrators and drivers committed to creating the best educational experience for children.

"Each day our school community works hard to provide a safe and supportive environment where students can learn and thrive," said Dr. Tony Signoret, PSUSD Superintendent of Schools. "Through our partnership with Zum, families will experience state-of-the-art technology that will give them greater visibility into their child's bus location and driver – and greater peace of mind. We were impressed by Zum's customer service and share their mission to ensure every student has a safe, dependable ride to and from school."

"Zum's partnership with Palm Springs Unified School District signals a growing national movement for modern, safe and equitable student transportation," said Ritu Narayan, Founder and CEO at Zum. "We are excited by this new partnership and look forward to working with the PSUSD community. Additionally, we encourage all experienced drivers and those looking for a new career to apply and attend our upcoming hiring events."

Drivers are at the heart of Zum's operation, and Zum offers drivers competitive pay, flexibility, and modern benefits. Zum will be hosting school bus driver hiring events on Wednesday, April 2 and Thursday, April 3, 2025 at the Courtyard Marriott Palm Springs (1300 E. Tahquitz Canyon Way, Palm Springs, CA 92262) from 9am to 6pm PT. Zum encourages all those interested to apply here and attend the events to learn more. The company will be hiring over 75 certified school bus drivers, 8 van drivers (non-CDL), and 24 attendants/monitors.

Zum is a national leader in modern student transportation, serving more than 4,000 schools nationwide with a focus on technology, sustainability and customer service. The company's model integrates state-of-the-art school buses with data-driven routing, driver tracking and enhanced safety measures, offering families real-time updates through a mobile app.

Benefits of Zum include:

• Safe, reliable rides and industry-leading technology: Zum's end-to-end platform optimizes routes, reduces student ride times, and facilitates transparent, data-driven decisions regarding student transportation. Through the Zum app, parents can view driver and vehicle information, receive real-time data and notifications about their child's school bus location and their child's pickup and drop-off status. Parents can also rate their student's experience after every single ride. Zum also provides school administrators with access to Zum's School Portal and Admin App, which keeps administrators informed with real-time ride details, robust reporting, and the ability to seamlessly manage, monitor, and optimize transportation.
  
  
• Well-trained and certified drivers: Through Zum's proprietary safety technology, driver training and certification program, SafeGuard, all drivers not only meet and exceed all state and federal requirements but also are trained on and required to adhere to specific protocols while picking up or dropping off students and while driving. Zum offers its drivers competitive pay, flexibility, and modern benefits (including medical, dental, vision, and 401K benefits). Zum has helped its partner districts overcome obstacles in the face of a nationwide driver shortage.
  
  
• State-of-the-art buses and facilities: Students and drivers will experience new, air-conditioned buses as well as top-of-the-line equipment and technology designed to enhance their safety and comfort and make drivers' day-to-day jobs easier and more enjoyable.

To learn more about how Zum is working with thousands of schools to deliver safe, reliable and modern 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