2024 Student Transportation Report Card: Safety, Sustainability Top Parents’ Concerns in Zum’s Annual Survey

Zūm today released the 2024 results from its Student Transportation Report Card, an annual survey that examines parents’ views of the school bus system. The majority of respondents feel the school bus system in America could improve (84%) and think it is important to convert diesel school buses to electric school buses (64%).

Other findings:

• 80% of parents surveyed expressed concern about environmental issues that stem from the harmful fumes that diesel school buses emit into our communities.
• 81% of parents said they would use a mobile app to stay informed of their child’s location on the school bus. 83% said they’d use a mobile app to know their child’s bus arrival time, similar to tracking an Uber driver’s arrival.
• More than half of respondents (53%) said their child has missed the school bus because they did not know when it was arriving. Out of those who don’t use the school bus to transport their children, 40% said they would reconsider if they could track their child’s arrival and departure.
• When asked to name their biggest concern about their child while riding the school bus, the majority of parents said safety, which was also the top concern in 2022 and 2023.
• 70% of parents surveyed said they think teachers and school bus drivers should receive better compensation.
• Nearly half of parents surveyed say their ability to work or perform well at their job has been impacted by school transportation issues for their children, an increase from 2023.

“This new survey shows that most parents are looking for increased safety and transparency on the school bus, as well as healthier, more sustainable rides for their children,” said Ritu Narayan, CEO and Founder of Zum. “I founded Zum to solve these problems and improve student transportation for all families, schools, drivers and communities. The time for change is now – and, as Zum partners with school districts across the U.S., I’m proud to say that change is here.”

The full commissioned survey, Zum’s 2024’s Student Transportation Report Card, is available here.