Student transportation provider Zum has published its vision for reimagining student transportation for 2025 and beyond in a news release. 

The announcement states: "Student transportation, which is an essential component of public education in the United States, has remained unchanged for over 80 years despite the technology existing and fundamentally changing every other industry. Zum believes that it doesn't have to be this way any longer.

"At a time when transparency and agility rule the day in other industries, busing remains opaque. Parents have no visibility into where children are at any given moment or—often—who is driving them. Bullying and other safety incidents can take months to come to light. These and other problems translate into thousands of wasted hours and unnecessary stress for students and parents, millions of wasted dollars for already underfunded districts and many metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions from a still primarily fossil-fueled school bus fleet. It doesn't have to be this way."

Zum says six key pillars will be critical in the coming years in order to achieve its vision through 2025 and beyond:

• Flexibility - Transforming the Most Inflexible Part of Our School System

• Equity - Better Access for All

• Efficiency - Redirecting Money From Buses to Classrooms

• Safety - Tech and Transparency Can Make Our Buses Safe Spaces

• Sustainability - Respecting the Environment

• Community - Creating Connections: Schools, Families and a Trusted Network of Drivers

"During this period of unprecedented transformation and disruption, we have an opportunity to rethink one of our country's most iconic institutions — the yellow school bus," says Zum Co-Founder and CEO Ritu Narayan. "Let's act now to reinvent student transportation for the future that we want to live, learn, and travel in. We owe it to our children. We owe it to ourselves."