Zum announces Oakland Unified as the first district with a fully electric school bus fleet in the nation!
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EPA Awards $32 Million to Zum to Accelerate Electrification of School Bus Fleets Nationwide

By: Zum Community Team  |  June 4, 2024

Zūm has been awarded $32 million from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean School Bus Program.

The funding, which brings Zum’s total awards from the EPA to $58 million, will enable Zum to deploy 117 electric school buses to its district partners across the U.S., including Branford Public Schools (CT), Reading Public Schools (PA), Alameda Unified School District (CA), Centinela Valley Union High School District (CA), Santa Barbara Unified School District (CA) and Spokane Public Schools (WA).

Additionally, Zum was waitlisted for $22.5 million to provide electric school buses for San Bernardino Unified School District, San Francisco Unified School District and Oakland Unified School District.

Overall, the EPA awards will enable Zum to deploy more than 200 electric school buses to school districts across the country. Made possible through President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, the grants will accelerate Zum’s transition to 100% electric school buses and expansion of its industry-leading AI-driven technology platform.

“We are entering a new era of student transportation, and we applaud the EPA’s commitment to improving the health of children and communities with cleaner, greener rides to and from school,” said Zum Founder and CEO Ritu Narayan. “I founded Zum with a mission to ensure all children have access to safe, reliable and sustainable transportation. This award propels our electrification efforts across the U.S., and we are honored to be part of this initiative.”

In January 2024, the EPA awarded Zum over $26 million to deploy electric school buses in school districts nationwide. In May, Zum announced that Oakland Unified School District will be the first major school district in the U.S. to transition to a 100% electrified school bus system with groundbreaking vehicle-to-grid technology.

We are thrilled to be part of this program and look forward to delivering cleanier, healthier transportation to school communities across the U.S.!