New Student Transportation Provider at SFUSD

Zum Promises Modernized Transportation With Upgrades in Service, Safety and Reliability

The SFUSD Transportation Department strives to create safe, reliable, and environmentally sustainable transportation to and from school for our students. To that end, the District engaged in a rigorous Request for Proposals (RFP) process that led to SFUSD selecting Zum (https://www.ridezum.com/) as a new transportation partner for the next five years. Zum promises to provide a modern, connected fleet powered by an integrated service platform, with the ability to provide end-to-end visibility and transparency to our school community.

We are excited to begin the 2021-2022 school year with the means to provide a seamless, full-service transportation infrastructure equipped with modern technology to unify and improve the experience for our students, families, administrators, and bus drivers.

Increased Transparency and Improved Communications

Zum’s service offerings promise increased transparency and better communication at each step in the process, creating an enhanced experience for families. Students and families should expect to see the following main changes in the service from Zum:

• New, green fleet: Students will be riding in brand new school buses, many of which will be greener from day one to meet SFUSD’s sustainability goals.
• Easy onboarding: Improved onboarding, including detailed verification of family and riders’ data in six languages.

• Real-time route updates: The Zum mobile app provides everyone who is part of the child’s school day (families, school sites and the Transportation Department) with real-time route updates and estimated arrival times, eliminating questions or concerns about the location of your child or their ride to school. All students will be checked in and out of the bus at pick-up and drop-off as an added safety feature.

• Personalized preferences: Zum’s technology offers a more personalized care experience for all students by making it easy for parents to communicate preferences and updates directly through the app. For instance, a family can use the Zum app to notify the District instantly about any ride cancellations or issues with pick-ups.

• Feedback and complaints: With the Zum app, families can rate their child’s daily ride experience and give feedback, or directly speak with a Zum team member.
• Enhanced accountability: Zum will provide performance data and reports to the District, allowing SFUSD to have a better understanding of how transportation is serving students and families, and which areas need to be improved upon.

At SFUSD, we are committed to improving transportation for our students, and working toward environmentally-friendly options for our community. Our longer-term plans include transitioning to a zero-emissions electric fleet, which will make SFUSD one of the first school districts in the U.S. to operate on an entirely electric fleet by 2025.

We look forward to welcoming our students back to the classroom!