Zum Wins 2025 Electric Innovation Award for Modernizing Student Transportation

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Sep 24, 2025, 19:18 ET

Company Recognized During Climate Week NYC for Technology That Increases Safety, Efficiency and Grid Resiliency

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Sept. 24, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Zūm, a leader in modern student transportation, today announced that it has received a 2025 Electric Innovation Award for modernizing student transportation through technology and electrification.

Zum won in the "Power for All" category, featured in this video, for its groundbreaking vehicle-to-grid technology and bidirectional charging that sends energy from electric school bus batteries to the local grid.

Zūm, a leader in modern student transportation, today announced that it has received a 2025 Electric Innovation Award for modernizing student transportation through technology and electrification.

"I am deeply honored to share this Electric Innovation Award with our dedicated team at Zum as well as the school districts and communities nationwide that we're privileged to serve," said Ritu Narayan, Founder and CEO at Zum. "Through technology and electrification, we have disrupted student transportation, a $50B industry that has seen little change in the past 80 years. This award affirms Zum's mission to ensure safe, reliable and equitable rides for children — and to help power the grid with renewable energy."

"Electrification holds the power to supercharge America's future. We can create over 25 million new jobs, help everyday Americans save money and reduce pollution with today's technologies," said David Hochschild, Chair of the California Energy Commission and co-founder of Electric Innovation. "Our Electric Innovation Awardees bring us closer to recognizing the power of the electrification movement, thanks to their innovative solutions and partnerships. We are thrilled to launch our 10-year initiative by recognizing these trailblazers, connecting them to others, and amplifying our collective efforts to create a brighter future for us all."

The Electric Innovation Awards recognize four breakthrough projects that "represent the kind of high-impact, scalable solution that can truly transform sectors, shape public policy and accelerate the adoption of electric technologies across the U.S."

The inaugural award was presented Sept. 24 in New York during Climate Week NYC, a global gathering of the energy and climate community. Speakers at the ceremony included former U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm; Doreen M. Harris, President & CEO of NYSERDA; Sonia Aggarwal, President of Climate Imperative; and David Hochschild, Chair of the California Energy Commission.

On Sept. 25, Zum will also participate in the Electric Innovation Forum, a gathering of lawmakers, funders and industry leaders who will explore transformative solutions shaping a sustainable future and accelerating the adoption of electric technologies.

Zum unifies parents, students, school administrators and drivers on a single personalized technology platform, enabling never-before achieved levels of visibility and data-backed accountability. In 2024, 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 technology and bidirectional charging, enabling the buses to return energy to the local grid at scale and improve grid resilience during times of peak demand.

Zum is a national leader in modern student transportation, serving more than 4,000 schools across 14 states nationwide. 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.

To learn more about the Electric Innovation Awards, visit www.electricinnovation.org.

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.