Zum Recognizes School Bus Safety Week with New and Enhanced Safety Technology

Zūm is recognizing National School Bus Safety Week (Oct. 20-24) with several new safety features.

“I started Zum with a mission to increase safety on the school bus for all children — including my own,” said Ritu Narayan, CEO and founder at Zum. “Our state-of-the-art technology and equipment, along with industry-leading driver training curriculum, raise the bar for school bus safety while increasing reliability and transparency for parents and schools.”

An Expanded Partnership with SPED Safe
Zum’s partnership with SPED Safe offers specialized driver training programs to enhance safe environments for all students, especially individuals with disabilities. Through a new expansion of this partnership, SPED Safe experts will create four additional training modules informed by Zum customer feedback. This is designed to ensure that all drivers and staff continue to receive industry-leading, evidence-based preparation to support all students.

This curriculum encompasses behavioral science, reinforcement strategies, an overview of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the importance of structure and routine, de-escalation tactics and effective communication.

Updates to State-of-the-Art Safety Technology
Zum’s industry-leading safety technology is continuously being updated. New product features rolling out at Zum locations nationwide include:

• An enhanced incident reporting system that enables capture of data from any vehicle or rider incidents that includes the route, time, location and involved parties. This streamlined digitized process saves time and provides digital traceability versus a paper-based approach. Having consistent, detailed data allows for better analysis and preventive measures.
• Real-time integration between camera systems and Zum’s fleet management platform that automatically maps drivers to their assigned vehicles and allows dispatchers to instantly know who’s behind the wheel during any incident or alert. This feature creates accountability and traceability for all vehicle operations and enables proactive coaching based on real-time events.

Zum’s vehicle safety technology is designed to keep students safe from the moment they get on the bus until they are back home. All drivers adhere to specific safety protocols while picking up or dropping off students and while driving, and drivers are also equipped with a GPS-enabled tablet that provides real-time route updates, personalized information on every student’s needs and incident reporting capabilities. The Zum App allows parents to see real-time information about vehicle location and their child’s pickup or dropoff status, along with a profile of their child’s driver.

During National School Bus Safety Week, Zum will hold events at its bus yards nationwide and recognize drivers with outstanding safety records.

We are grateful to our drivers and to everyone who supports Zum’s mission to ensure safe, reliable rides for all students!