Rockford Public Schools Transportation Update
Zum is proud to be providing safe, modern transportation for Rockford Public Schools students and families. As the first days of the new school year gets underway, Zum and RPS teams are working together to be sure the system is at peak performance and address mitigating factors.
Rockford operates a three-tier bell schedule, with buses completing consecutive routes each morning and afternoon and tight turnaround times between schools. Traffic, school-site congestion, and student loading can affect those turnaround times and carry over to subsequent routes. These factors are typically exacerbated in the afternoons.
Positive Feedback from Rockford Families
The Zum Parent App gives families real-time visibility into their children’s school bus journeys, including bus locations, estimated arrival times and timely service notifications. Since the start of school, Rockford families have submitted more than 3,300 ratings through the Parent App, with an average rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars. We are encouraged by this early response and are always focused on ensuring every family has a positive and reliable experience.
On-Time Performance Continues to Improve
Zum and RPS are working together to use real-time operating data to closely monitor routes and make targeted adjustments to schedules, travel times, student loading and unloading, and school arrival and departure windows. These adjustments are already delivering measurable progress. On-time performance has improved by more than 10% since the first day of school.
More than 600 students registered for transportation after the registration period had closed and routes were already finalized. Incorporating this volume of students and new stops in just a few days required adjustments to established routes, vehicle capacity and schedules. All of these students have now been successfully routed.
How We Can Partner Together
In the morning, at some schools, there are also timing differences between when buses arrive for student drop-off and when school staff are available to receive and deboard students. This can extend the amount of time buses remain on campus and, because buses immediately continue to their next routes, create a cascading effect across later tiers.
Afternoon dismissal introduces additional variables, particularly traffic around school campuses and student loading times. Because buses move directly from one route to the next, even small delays leaving a school can affect subsequent routes.
Zum is working closely with RPS and individual schools to improve bus flow and loading efficiency. Families can help by following designated traffic patterns and pickup areas and guidance from school staff during arrival and dismissal. Even small improvements in traffic flow can help buses stay on schedule throughout the afternoon.
Zum and RPS will continue working closely together to monitor performance, respond to feedback, and make targeted adjustments wherever needed. We are fully committed to building on the progress underway and delivering the safe, reliable service Rockford students and families depend on every day.