Zum partners directly with school districts to manage student transportation, including getting kids safely to and from school, providing visibility to parents, and planning for routing and scheduling, all in an end-to-end solution. School districts use Zum for daily operations, to track and plan vehicle rides, and to analyze performance and service data. Kids and families use the Zum app to see when the vehicles are coming, and parents use the Zum app to see that their kids arrived safely.
No. Zum is not a ride share service, nor does it offer its service directly to consumers. Only school districts who partner with Zum can request and schedule Zum rides.
However, parents are able to provide detailed information regarding their child’s special needs when they verify information during the onboarding process. Any planned absences or schedule changes can be communicated through the Zum parent app when school is in session.
Our service reduces costs for districts by deploying the best type of vehicle for each route, including buses, cars, and vans. This multi-vehicle approach helps solve current industry-wide challenges like schedule, unpredictability and vehicle underutilization while also reducing student commute times. To address our industry’s impact on the environment, we are driving widespread adoption of electric buses and are committed to a fully electric fleet by 2025.
Zum offers transportation for all student needs: home-to-school transportation, special education transportation, McKinney-Vento transportation, therapy session or out-of-district placement transportation, field trips and athletic events. Sometimes Zum provides its own buses, other times it works with a school’s existing fleet. Zum provides traditional yellow school buses and alternatives such as cars and vans. Zum is committed to providing an all-electric fleet by 2025.
We would love to provide transportation to additional districts. Please encourage your schools to get in touch here.
Taking Zum Rides
We totally get it: Climbing into a car that belongs to someone you don’t really know can be uncomfortable the first time—both for you and your parents. But don’t worry. Our Zumer drivers (“Zumers”) are not only friendly, but they have a lot in common with you: they’re parents, babysitters, sports enthusiasts, video game players, Disney fans. More importantly, they prioritize your safety, which is why they’re Zumers in the first place. But it takes cooperation to be safe. So, help them make your experience one that is (1) respectful and (2) safe.
Respectful Rides:
Be on Time: Your Zumer works hard to reach you on time so that you don’t miss your math test. Please be ready when he or she gets there. And if you have trouble finding your Zumer or you’re running late, let us know through your kid app or inform a parent/adult, so that we make sure you two connect and you get where you need to go.
Be Respectful: You might be riding solo in the backseat, or you might be part of a carpool. Please respect every passenger—including yourself—through use of appropriate language and gestures. Be kind to all in the car and don’t make disparaging remarks. Bullying is unacceptable and not cool.
Clean Up: Your Zumer tries to keep a clean ride for all. No need to clean up somebody else’s mess—you already have your room to tidy up. But please leave no trace when you’re done with your ride. On that note, if you want to snack on your ride, ask your Zumer for permission and make sure he/she knows that you won’t strew wrappers or leave your trash in the car, especially since other kid riders may have allergies.
Safe Rides:
Compliance with Zum Instructions: When your Zumer is dispatched, he or she has clear instructions on where to pick you up and where to bring you, thanks to your parents’ or school’s input. Please let your Zumer follow those instructions by not interjecting or providing additional information that may conflict with what’s been provided. If you believe that the instructions are incorrect, don’t override them—call Zum at 1.855.RIDEZUM to talk to the customer support team. We are here to help you get to the right destination.
Be Savvy: Make sure that your Zumer’s car matches that in the app and that the Zum decal is affixed. Make sure your Zumer is wearing his or her T-Shirt. If you have a password, make sure your Zumer shares it with you. Don’t get in the car unless you’re sure it’s your Zum ride.
Safe Space: Driving requires focus and patience. Please help your Zumer drive as safely as possible by:
Allowing the Zumer to properly strap you into your booster seat or seat;
Remaining strapped in until the car fully stops;
Respecting your Zumer—never yell, rough house, or get physical during the ride;
Respecting your fellow riders—again, don’t insult, bully, or harass anybody in the car;
Allowing the Zumer to unbuckle you and/or help you out of the car;
Going to your intended destination as reflected on the app.
Complaints about your Ride: If you feel like your Zumer acted inappropriately and/or drove in an unsafe manner, or if your fellow riders didn’t comply with Zum guidelines, please let us know. We want everybody to have an enjoyable and safe ride, and your opinion matters. Contact us at 1.855.RIDEZUM so that our community improves.
Students and parents don’t pay for Zum. It doesn’t cost families anything out-of-pocket and there’s no per-ride cost.
Zum works directly with school districts across the country to offer a comprehensive end-to-end transportation solution purpose-built for kids’ needs. In collaboration with these districts, Zum manages daily operations, tracks and plans vehicle use and driver profiles, and analyzes performance and service data. Zum reduces costs and increases efficiency by deploying the best vehicle for each route—from a fleet that includes electric vehicles, buses, cars, and vans.
All scheduling for Zum rides is arranged through schools or districts. While parents don’t actually book the rides themselves, once a child has been approved for transportation by a school or district, parents can view upcoming rides using the Zum app.
Once your child has been approved for transportation by a school or district, you will be able to view upcoming scheduled rides—along with the profile of the driver assigned to each ride—in the Zum app.
If Zum is providing transportation for your school or district, all ride booking and scheduling is handled by your school or district. Parents don’t need to worry about any of the logistics.
You can cancel an upcoming ride for your child through the Zum app by following the steps below. Please note: you must also notify your school that your child will be absent in order for the absence to be captured in school records.
From the home page, tap on “Rides” in the bottom tab bar. You will see a list of your child’s upcoming rides.
Tap on the ride you wish to cancel.
On the ride details screen, tap on the “Manage Ride” button at the bottom of the screen.
Tap on “Cancel Ride” in the action menu and provide a reason.
Parents should notify their schools directly if a child will be absent from school. To report a no-show for an upcoming ride, please cancel your child’s ride.
We assign a small pool of drivers to your family, rather than random drivers for your kids every day. We want to provide a pool of drivers who you always feel comfortable communicating with and can rely on.
Zum monitors all rides and checks in on any driver that appears to be running late. You’ll receive a text or notification if the driver is estimated to be more than 15 minutes late.
No, you don’t have to provide your own booster seat. If your child requires a booster seat, you can specify this in your child’s member profile.
From Parent app main menu, select “Manage Members” and select your child
Use the “Special Seat Request” field to specify a seat requirement
Zum vehicles will be equipped with the necessary equipment, based on the equipment needs of each student assigned to each ride.
Yes. Once your child has been approved for transportation services by your school or district, you will be asked to verify that your child’s information is correct throughZum’s onboarding process. During this verification process, you can add specific notes as follows:
General notes or instructions about your child
Instructions related to your child’s pickup and dropoff addresses. We encourage you to include these notes – for example: “Address is for ABC High School. Please wait in the parking lot.”
Availability & Support
Zum is currently available in school districts in the following metropolitan areas: San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland, Los Angeles, Seattle, Chicago, and Dallas. We are always adding new districts around the country. Please check for additional information here.
Zum provides rides from 6am-6pm, Monday to Friday. Schools and districts can contact their account manager for special requests outside of these hours. Parents and families can contact Zum’s support team by phone (855-RIDEZUM), email (support@ridezum.com) or in-app chat.
Zum support is available from 5am to 6pm PST, Monday to Friday. You can reach us in several ways:
Via the App – click the “chat” or “call” options from the main menu
Trust & Safety
Yes, absolutely! If your child is riding to school in a bus, you will receive a text message or push notification the week before your rides, notifying you of your assigned driver. If your child is riding to school in a vehicle other than a bus, you will receive the notification as soon as a driver has been secured and assigned to your ride.
Once a driver has been assigned to your child’s ride, you will be able to view the driver’s profile through the Parent app. The driver’s profile will include their photo and vehicle information, such as vehicle image, vehicle make/model and license plate number.
You also have an option to use a secret password that is generated 24 hours before the ride which will be shared on your app home screen as well as with the driver. Your child can confirm the secret password with the driver to make sure he/she is leaving with the correct driver assigned to them.
If your child is riding in a yellow school bus, the side of the bus will be clearly marked with “Zum Services, Inc”. If your child is riding in a sedan or van, these Zum vehicles will be marked with Zum stickers on the front and back windshield and Zum drivers will be wearing their Zum t-shirt.
You can view the profile of your driver once drivers have been assigned, and share that information with your child. Additionally, once your child has boarded their vehicle (and their identity has been confirmed,) the driver will note in their app that the passenger has been picked up. You will receive a message confirming this.
Our app technology enables real time tracking while the ride is in progress. You will get a notification when the drivers start their trip to the pick-up locations. When the driver has confirmed that your child has been picked up, you will receive an automatic text message.
When you login to your app, you can see the driver is enroute to the drop-off location and you will be able to track their location in real time. Once the driver has confirmed that your child has been dropped off, you will receive another automatic text message to notify you of the drop-off.
Text message notifications will be sent to you as the ride progresses.
You can request special sign-in/sign-out requirements for your child when you verify your child’s information during the onboarding process by adding instructions related to your child’s pickup or dropoff addresses. Please remember to inform your school or the facility so they know who is coming to pick up your child that day.
It is not necessary for your child to have a mobile phone, but if your child does carry a mobile phone and has installed the Zum Kids App, he or she will be notified via text message when the driver is within 100 meters of the pickup location. Your child can also view details of their upcoming rides and driver profiles in the Kids App. If your school or district is using Zum RFID cards, your child can check in and out of rides using the digital RFID card available in the Kids App.
You can reach out directly to the entity corresponding to your state below:
California
CPUC Transportation Licensing and Analysis Branch
1-800-649-7570
Illinois
Secretary of State
217-785-3000
Texas
Texas Department of Licensing and Registration
512-463-6599
The Zum mobile app provides ongoing visibility into ride updates, a child’s location, and the driver’s profile. Families can also use the app to share changes in schedule, set notification preferences, provide feedback on a ride, as well as speak with the Zum team directly at any time.
Zum Apps
We have three mobile apps: one for parents, one for kids, and one for drivers. Once Zum is managing student transportation for a school district, the school will prompt parents and families to download the appropriate app. The app provides visibility into upcoming rides, driver profiles, real-time ride updates, and the ability to report and resolve issues.
For any address or schedule changes, please reach out to your school or district. Once approved, your school or district will inform us and we will make the necessary changes. You will see the changes confirmed in your Zum app.
If your school district is using Zum, you can download the parent app from the links below.
The Kids App was specifically designed with your children in mind, giving them access to view their upcoming rides, driver profiles and ride tracking. If your school or district is using Zum RFID cards, your child can check in and out of rides using the digital RFID card available in the Kids App.
If your child has a mobile phone, it’s a great tool to keep them updated with the latest information about their rides.
It is not mandatory for your child to have the Kids App, but we believe it’s a great way for your child to know their drivers, keep track of where their drivers are and see what rides have been scheduled for them.
Your child can use the following links to download the Kid’s App:
Zum Policies
To provide the most efficient, smooth and safe transportation for your student, we optimize routes with multiple types of vehicles of various sizes based on numerous metrics and your school’s or district’s requirements. Your student could be traveling in yellow buses, vans, or cars based on the route design and need of the students. In most cases, the vehicle type will be determined and agreed to by the school/district before we start your student’s transportation and should stay consistent throughout the course of that school year. You will be able to view the vehicle information in the Zum App before the ride.
As a general policy, our driver wait time is 2 minutes. We do this in order to ensure that each student will arrive at school on time. Please reach out to your school or district if you have any questions regarding this policy.
Contact Zum Support and we will help you confirm with the driver whether he or she has the item. If so, we will ask the driver to return the item to school on their next scheduled ride.
It is likely that your child will be riding with other student(s) who attend the same school. Unfortunately, we cannot disclose the name of other riders in accordance with school district policy.
Call 1-855-743-3986; or Email support@ridezum.com; or Use the chat feature in the Zum App.
NOTE: Only persons associated with your student’s account will be given access to their information, so please be prepared to confirm your account email or phone number.
Zum Drivers
Zum prioritizes students’ safety above all else. All drivers and vehicles comply with federal, state, and local standards as well as any additional Zum-specific qualifications. On top of the State mandated training, we provide all drivers on the Zum platform with ongoing training through a comprehensive toolkit of safety resources developed in partnership with industry-leading safety experts. You can visit our Trust and Safety page to learn more about our driver screening and training procedures.
You will be able to review the driver profile on the Zum App in advance of scheduled rides. You will also get a text if the assigned driver becomes unavailable on the day of the ride and a notification within the app when a new driver is assigned.
In order to provide consistent service to your family, we rotate among a small pool of familiar drivers. This is true for one-off and recurring rides. If you have any concerns or feedback for the current driver, please contact the Zum Support Team.
You can view the driver’s profile and vehicle information once a driver is assigned to your ride. You can then share that information with your child. If your child is traveling in passenger vehicles, please look out for vehicles that are marked with Zum stickers on the front and back windshield. If your student is traveling in a yellow bus, it will be marked on the side with the name Zum Services, Inc.
Your Account
You can change your first name, last name and phone number through the App:
From the main menu, tap on the Settings icon next to your profile picture
Select “Edit Profile”
If you would like to change your email address please contact the Zum support team at support@ridezum.com or call 855-RIDEZUM.
You can change your password through the App:
From the main menu, tap on the “Settings” icon next to your profile picture
Select “Change Password”
If your school or district has approved transportation for your child, your child’s profile (as provided by your school or district) will be visible in the Zum app. You can add a clear photo of your child to help our drivers reliably identify them upon pickup.
It happens to the best of us. If you’ve forgotten your password, you can reset your password through the App:
From the Login screen, tap on “Forgot Password”
Enter your email address
Go to your inbox – we’ll send instructions on how to reset your password via email.
If you’ve forgotten your registered email, please contact the Zum support team at support@ridezum.com or call 855-RIDEZUM.
