Improving the student experience

Garvey School District attracts students from across Los Angeles to its special education programs. However, using traditional yellow school buses for its special education population was costly and inefficient and lengthy travel times resulted in these students arriving distracted and unprepared to learn.

Using Zum’s approach of right-sized vehicles, the district was able to use smaller vehicles to get special education students to class sooner. “Some children were spending between an hour and an hour-and-a-half on the bus, twice a day,” says Director of Special Education, Alma Ulloa. “Now the same students arrive in as little as 15 minutes. They can sleep in and arrive rested.”

Zum’s smaller vehicles also improve safety, as many of Garvey’s schools do not allow large buses to pull up near classrooms. “The easier and safer hand-off of students to staff is greatly appreciated,” adds Alma Ulloa. “We no longer get daily complaints from parents, which frees our staff to focus on more productive tasks.”