Zonar awards $50K grants to school bus companies
Don Carnahan, vice president of business development for Zonar, presents the grants to five contractors at the National School Transportation Association’s Annual Mid-Winter Meeting. The money can be used to outfit school buses with the hardware parts needed to utilize Zonar technology.
BONITA SPRINGS, Fla. — Five school bus companies received $50,000 Zonar Systems grants during the National School Transportation Association’s (NSTA) recent Annual Mid-Winter Meeting here.
Don Carnahan, vice president of business development for Zonar, presented the hardware grants to Academy Transport LLC, Dell Transportation Corp., Harlow’s School Bus Service Inc., Northeast Charter School Bus Services Inc. and Dousman Transport Co. Inc.
Zonar and NSTA annually sponsor the $50,000 grant to increase student safety and promote best practices within the pupil transportation industry, officials said. Recipients were selected based on their commitment to operational improvements and safety.
"NSTA strives to provide members with innovative resources to improve the pupil transportation industry,” said Ronna Sable Weber, NSTA's executive director. “We hope recipients use this grant as an opportunity to improve efficiency and further advance their commitment to the safe transportation of children from home to school.”
The grants can be used to outfit school buses with the component hardware parts necessary to utilize Zonar's Electronic Vehicle Inspection Report, V3 telematics platform and ZPass student ridership system.
“Ensuring safety and increasing operational efficiency has always been our focus at Zonar,” said Chris Oliver, chief marketing officer for Zonar. “We are very proud to work with NSTA again to provide these commendable winners with the tools and information needed to save money and improve safety of their students and vehicles.”
For information on this grant and other grant opportunities, visit NSTA’s website at www.yellowbuses.org and click on the "Awards" tab.
Other news on Zonar:
More Management

Transfinder Expands California Footprint with Multiple School District Wins
Six California school districts selected the company's routing platform and related transportation technology as Transfinder continues expanding its presence across the state.
Read More →NSTA's Curt Macysyn on Student Transportation History and What's Next
Hear from NSTA's executive director as we discuss student transportation's role in American history, federal regulation, driver recruitment, illegal passing, AI, and what might be next, in this Route interview.
Read More →NSTA on 250 Years of America and the Road Ahead for Student Transportation
Curt Macysyn joins The Route to discuss student transportation's role in American history, federal regulation, driver recruitment, illegal passing, AI, and the industry’s future. Sponsored by IC Bus.
Read More →
Photo Highlights: Inside the 2026 Michigan Association for Pupil Transportation Conference
Snapshots from the 2026 MAPT conference, where Michigan's school transportation professionals gathered for training, technology updates, awards, networking, and more.
Read More →
Zonar Launches Reimagined Bus Suite Web Portal
Can one platform replace your transportation software stack? Zonar says its new Bus Suite unifies routing, dispatch, field trips, GPS, and parent communication.
Read More →
Indiana Association Announces 2026 Award Winners
See who earned top honors at the 2026 School Transportation Association of Indiana conference, recognizing excellence in school transportation statewide.
Read More →
Student Transportation of America Acquires Massachusetts Contractor
Tremblay’s Bus Company and its 400-bus fleet joins the STA family of brands as the company grows its presence across the Northeast U.S.
Read More →
Michigan Association Announces 2026 Award Winners
See who earned top honors at the 2026 Michigan Association for Pupil Transportation conference, recognizing excellence in school transportation statewide.
Read More →Inside MAPT 2026: Michigan’s School Transportation Community Connects at Boyne Mountain
Check out highlights from the 2026 MAPT Summer Conference, where over 300 transportation pros gathered for training, networking, awards, and trade show.
Read More →
Summit School Services to Complete Fleetwide Samsara Technology Rollout
The company said outfitting its entire fleet with AI-powered safety and fleet management technology will strengthen student safety and operational efficiency across its local brands.
Read More →


