California's Santa Barbara Unified School District has chosen school transportation provider Zum for a $30 million five-year transportation contract.

Other districts Zum now serves:

• Los Angeles Unified School District (California).

• San Francisco Unified School District (California).

• Oakland Unified School District (California).

• Seattle Public Schools (Washington).

• Howard County Public Schools (Maryland).

• Metro Nashville Public Schools (Tennessee).

Ritu Narayan, Founder and CEO at Zum, expressed gratitude for the partnership, stating: "Santa Barbara has a diverse and passionate school community that puts its students first. We look forward to collaborating with families, drivers, and school officials to provide safe, equitable, sustainable, and modern service."

Zūm's buses are equipped with advanced safety features, and the Zum app offers parents the ability to access their child's bus driver profile, real-time tracking, and notifications about bus location and pick-up/drop-off status. The app also enables administrators to optimize routes and provides real-time data and performance reports, supporting transparent, data-driven decisions regarding student transportation.

In the next five years, Zūm aims to collaborate with SBUSD, county and state officials, and stakeholders to develop a plan for transitioning the school bus fleet to electric as part of its Net Zero Initiative, leading in electric school bus conversion.

To ensure the highest standards, Zūm invests in advanced training and certification programs for drivers and staff. This commitment ensures compliance with state and federal requirements, while also focusing on customer service and transporting students with diverse needs and disabilities.