School districts can apply for up to $50,000 in school bus technology hardware in the 2016 NAPT/Don Carnahan Memorial Grant program.

The program is sponsored by fleet management technology provider Zonar and the National Association for Pupil Transportation (NAPT).

The rolling grant opportunity will give more districts in the U.S. and Canada access to Zonar’s fleet technologies with inspection, tracking, and reporting capabilities.

“In today’s economic climate, it can be challenging for schools to obtain all of the financial resources necessary to acquire and implement leading-edge technology systems, despite the potential for significant improvements in student safety and reduced business costs,” said Mike Martin, executive director of NAPT. “Led by Zonar, this important grant will lift some of that financial burden from the school systems while equipping them with the smart fleet management tools that are quickly becoming best practice in North America.”

“We understand the real-world impacts that smart transportation technology has on our communities, and through our collaboration with the NAPT, we also recognize the constraints that school systems must sometimes work under,” said H. Kevin Mest, senior vice president of business development at Zonar Systems. “Zonar is committed to supporting safety initiatives in student transportation, and we are proud to offer this grant program for the sixth consecutive year to help communities meet these goals.”

Between 2011 and 2015, Zonar awarded dozens of technology grants to NAPT members.

Zonar will determine the number of 2016 grant recipients after reviewing the new application group. This year’s grant recipients will be announced and presented at the NAPT Summit in Kansas City, Missouri, in November.

For more information on the NAPT/Don Carnahan Memorial Grant and to submit an application, go here.