Zum, the leader in modern student transportation, has officially announced the launch of several new safety features, each one designed to ensure that all children experience safe, reliable rides to and from school.
To understand the significance of such a development, we must take into account how more than 500,000 school buses transport 27 million students in the U.S. each day. Upholding the mode’s importance, Zum leverages a 360-degree approach to prioritize students’ safety and well-being before, during, and after every ride.
Building upon that would be the company’s now expanded partnership with SPED Safe, something which treads up a long distance to offer specialized driver training programs, all for enhancing safe environments in the case of each and every student, especially individuals with disabilities. The latter bit makes for an important feature because, at present, well over 7 million children across America have disabilities, and, for many, school transportation provides their only access to education.
Anyway, more on the wider push would reveal how SPED Safe experts will create four more training modules informed by Zum customer feedback. These training modules, on their part, are likely to span 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.
The overarching idea here is to help drivers understand how to provide more personalized care, and at the same time, ensure transparency, a critical component of Zum’s model.
Turning our attention toward the company’s newly-introduced safety features, they include an enhanced incident reporting system which enables capture of data from any vehicle or rider incidents that includes the route, time, location and involved parties. Such a streamlined process treads up a long distance to save time, as well as provide a sense of digital traceability.
This marks a major upgrade over typical paper-based approach, whereas on the other hand, having consistent, detailed data also allows for better analysis and preventive measures.
Then, there is real-time integration between camera systems and Zum’s fleet management platform, capable of automatically mapping drivers to their assigned vehicles, while simultaneously empowering dispatchers to instantly know who’s behind the wheel during any incident or alert.
 This feature, all in all, can be expected to create accountability and traceability for vehicle operations and proactive coaching based on real-time events.
Among other things, it ought to be acknowledged how Zum’s vehicle safety technology, in its current shape and form, can keep students safe from the moment they get on the bus until they are back home. The factor is largely there because 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.
On top of that, these drivers are also equipped with a GPS-enabled tablet which effectively provides real-time route updates, personalized information on every student’s needs, and easy-to-use incident reporting capabilities.
As for families, they can view real-time information about vehicle location and their child’s pickup or dropoff status, along with a profile of their child’s driver.
Founded in 2014, Zum’s rise up the ranks stems from providing turnkey modern transportation solutions to school districts in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, Utah, and Virginia.
The company’s stature can be contextualized once you consider it currently operates the largest mass transit system in the U.S. Zum’s credentials are further aided by the fact that it has been featured, thus far, among Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas, CNBC Disruptor 50, CNBC Changemakers, World Economic Forum and Financial Times’ Fastest Growing Companies.
“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.”
