Driving America Forward with Jacob Coker
“Here in Missouri, we get a lot of weather, especially in the winter months. It can be cold, waiting for the bus to show up outside your house, even if you’re wearing a coat. Because our app is so precise, parents can open it up and know exactly when the bus is going to show up, making it so their kids don’t have to wait outside in the cold.”
Jacob Coker
Safety Manager
Zum
Originally from California, Jacob Coker found himself in the transportation industry when taking a job with the Department of Corrections in Missouri. After working in operations for Brinks Armor and the delivery service DHL, he found a job opportunity at Zum, and jumped on it. Today, he is the Safety Manager for Zum’s bus yard in Kansas City, Missouri, where he is responsible for working with drivers to make Zum’s buses safe, day in and day out.
In your role at Zum, how do you think about innovation?
I think, in the Safety function, innovation comes down to technology.
In this role, I’m using every bit of technology I can—cameras to track what’s going on on the bus, GPS for route tracking, RFID to ensure students are getting on and off the bus. All of that means data, and data allows us to help correct behavior and create a safe environment proactively, rather than reacting to something after the fact.
As an example, one thing our tracking can do is determine when buses are going through yellow lights on the road. This, of course, could be an area where there might be an incident, if we’re not careful. So, in our Safety function, we’ve gone in and worked with drivers proactively, reminding them that they need to be extra careful when going through yellow lights, and establishing safe driver habits ahead of time. Since I started in the role, we haven’t had any incidents here in Kansas City, and I think that’s in part because of how proactive we’re being.
Other companies I’ve worked for use technology to be reactive, but I think the innovation here at Zum is that we’re doing the opposite, and getting ahead of things to be as safe as possible every day.
From your perspective, at a company-wide level, how is Zum driving American innovation forward?
I don’t know of a single other bus company that’s using technology the way we are—and I think that’s how we’re innovating.
Like I said, we’re using technology to help create a safe environment, and that doesn’t just apply to the buses themselves. For instance, here in Missouri, we get a lot of weather, especially in the winter months. It can be cold, waiting for the bus to show up outside your house, even if you’re wearing a coat. Because our app is so precise, parents can open it up and know exactly when the bus is going to show up, making it so their kids don’t have to wait outside in the cold.
It’s a small thing, but it’s those small touches that really make a difference to kids and their families, and I think that’s real innovation.
When you think of the future, what role do children/the next generation play, and how can we set them up for success?
I think the most important thing we can do is to create that safe environment on the bus, that I mentioned before. Safe kids will feel comfortable and confident, and that will lead to them being creative and innovative when they enter the workforce.
I gave a few examples, and another big one has to do with the driver. The driver is the first and last person a student will see every single day, so the driver’s attitude has a huge impact on the students. If the driver is positive and helps create a positive environment, that’s going to boost the mood of the students on the bus and leave a lasting impression.
The driver is also there to help minimize conflict and make sure things run smoothly. Now, if you’re driving a bus with kids on it every day, all year, of course there is going to be conflict among the kids. Drivers are there to help smooth out that conflict—and because we have cameras on the bus, we can help support those drivers. If they’ve done a particularly good job de-escalating a conflict, we’ll pull up the video and give them positive reinforcement: “Good job, keep doing that.” Or, if we see something that might have gone better, we can do the same, and offer some suggestions.
The driver is a pivotal part of the student transportation experience, and in the Safety function, we’re here to support them—all in service of creating a healthy and safe environment for the kids, which is our number one responsibility and priority.