Driving America Forward with Paul Egger
“Zum is not just improving one part of transportation. The company is showing that an essential service can be rebuilt with better technology, better customer experience, and a more modern operating model.”
Paul Egger
VP of Charter Services
Zum
Paul Egger began his career in tech, as the owner of an interactive voice response company. After selling it, he joined the transportation industry, taking a role at First Student, where he helped restructure and modernize the company’s charter business. He later brought that same focus to Durham, before joining Zum as VP of Charter Services.
At Zum, Paul leads the growth and evolution of Charter Services, helping schools, organizations, companies, and community groups access safe, reliable transportation beyond the traditional school day. He is passionate about building scalable systems, improving the customer experience, and finding better ways to connect available fleet capacity with real customer needs.
Question 1:
In your role at Zum, how do you think about innovation?
For me, innovation starts with solving real customer problems.
Charter transportation is a partnership between sales and operations. It is not enough to sell a trip. We have to know we can operate it safely, reliably, and efficiently. I often say, “If we can’t run it, why bother selling it?” That mindset keeps us focused on building a charter business that works for the customer and for the operation.
A big part of my role is removing friction. Customers do not need to understand all the complexity behind the scenes. They need transportation from point A to point B, and they need the process to be clear, responsive, and dependable. Our job is to make that happen while managing the operational details in the background.
One example is how we are using technology to improve the quote and booking experience. At Zum, we have piloted AI-powered tools to help answer inbound calls, capture trip details, and provide initial quotes for customers looking for charter buses. That reduces repetitive manual work, helps customers get answers faster, and allows our team to focus more time on higher-value customer support and execution.
To me, that is what innovation looks like: using technology, process improvement, and operational discipline to make something complicated feel simple for the customer.
Question 2:
From your perspective, at a company-wide level, how is Zum driving American innovation forward?
Zum is built around the idea that student transportation can be a Connected Mobility Experience, that is safer, smarter, cleaner, and more efficient.
That matters for Charter Services because innovation is already part of the company’s culture. Access to data, modern technology, and a willingness to rethink legacy processes are all part of how Zum operates. When I bring forward ideas to improve the charter experience, whether that is better quoting, better visibility, better customer communication, or smarter use of fleet capacity, the response is not, “That is how the industry has always done it.” The response is, “How do we make it happen?”
That mindset is powerful. Zum is not just improving one part of transportation. The company is showing that an essential service can be rebuilt with better technology, better customer experience, and a more modern operating model.
Question 3:
When you think of the future, what role do children/the next generation play, and how can we set them up for success?
Children are at the center of why this work matters.
For many students, the school bus is one of the first and last parts of their school day. At Zum, that ride is supported by technology, safety systems, cleaner vehicles, and a broader commitment to reliability and care. It is not just transportation. It is part of the student experience.
I also think there is something powerful about students seeing innovation in their everyday lives. When they ride a Zum bus, they are experiencing a modernized version of a service that has existed for generations. They may not see every system behind it, but they benefit from the idea that things can be made better.
That is an important message for the next generation. Innovation is not only about inventing something completely new. Sometimes it is about taking something familiar, improving it, and making it work better for the people who depend on it.