The Howard County Public Schools System has awarded a five-year contract to transportation company Zum Services, Inc. to operate 250 buses in the Maryland school district.
Zum’s chief executive officer Ritu Narayan said the contract with the Howard County school system will help modernize student transportation.
“Howard County Public Schools is consistently recognized as a school system that prioritizes a safe, nurturing and inclusive environment for all students, and we are thrilled the district is partnering with Zum for its student transportation services,” Narayan said in a statement. “With this decision, Howard County joins a massive movement of schools that share our commitment to a future where student transportation advances equity, accessibility and environmental stewardship.”
Company officials added that, “The decision signals the Maryland school district’s commitment to a cleaner, safer and more equitable solution for the students and families of Howard County.”
Narayan is a first-generation immigrant, mother of two young children, and the first female computer engineer in her family. Before co-founding the company with her brother, Vivek Garg, she was a tech executive at eBay and Oracle.
Garg, who previously served in India’s army as an infantry officer attaining the rank of major, is now Zum’s chief operating officer.
Since beginning in the Bay Area of California, Zum has branched out into five other states: Washington, Texas, Illinois, Tennessee, and Maryland – its first expansion on the east coast.
Garg told Baltimore Fishbowl that when he and his sister began the company, they focused on completely transforming the user experience and redefining who the customer was.
“We defined ‘customer’ as not just the school district that is paying us,” he said. “We define it as the child, the family, the school site, the school district, and the drivers and employees.”
Garg explained that Zum’s drivers are not contractors, rather they are full-time employees with better pay than contractors, as well as benefits, including vacation and sick leave, medical insurance, and 401K benefits. Drivers also have access to break rooms at Zum’s headquarters, including “kitchens, internet, amenities, top of the line equipment,” Garg said.
The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated Maryland’s difficulty filling bus driver vacancies, and when students returned to in-person schooling in 2021, Howard County schools faced a 20% vacancy rate for drivers.
Zum will hire more than 250 school bus drivers and staff for the fleet that will serve Howard County schools.
The company has held hiring events every weekend, and Garg says between 100-200 people show up for each event. They will hold recruitment events at BWI Courtyard Marriott on June 7 and 8 from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Garg said the company is looking for both drivers who are already certified and those who are eager to be trained.
“We provide the most high-end fleet for the drivers,” he said. “And the work culture, it’s not a magic wand. But you need to think about it holistically, attract the right people, and train them.”
An added benefit is that training for drivers is not only free, but they also get paid while they’re being trained, so there is no income loss for them, Garg said.
While Garg has heard some concerns about Zum being an out-of-state company, he tries to reassure communities that “school transportation doesn’t change much from place to place. Most important is: have we done this on the scale or not.” He points to their contract with Los Angeles Unified School District, which is for 450 school buses — 200 more than their contract with the Howard County Public School System.
He also points to Zum’s customer service and communication as a testament to the company’s success.
“We allow parents to rate every single school bus ride through the Zum app,” he said. “We have over 256,000 ratings, and the average rating is 4.94 stars. We are obsessed about service.”
The company is notified if any rating is 3.0 or below, and that family receives a phone call from a Zum employee to determine how to fix whatever the parent deemed unsatisfactory.
According to Garg, Zum is the only 100% carbon-neutral fleet in the nation.
Its current fleet is completely convertible to electric, and Zum is “committed to working with HCPSS to develop a plan to transition school bus fleets to electric during the course of the year-contract,” according to a press release from the company.
Until conversion to electric is complete, Zum commits to offset any carbon emitted by their fleet by investing in as many local Maryland community projects as possible that are dedicated to carbon sequestering and are certified by the EPA.
Garg says the Howard County school system has been great to work with.
“They want things to change, to be better,” he said. “People are extremely innovative, very responsive, extremely good collaborators. Excitement [for electrification] is through the roof. They are very open to innovation and sustainability.”
Howard County’s General Manager for Zum’s operations will be Kami Moody. Moody was GM for the Maryland Transit Authority, and before that GM for Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.
According to the press announcement, Moody has “deep roots” in Howard County, and “he will oversee all of Howard County operations and be responsible for the well being and training of employees and drivers, ensuring exceptional service to the families of HCPSS and a liaison to HCPSS and the Howard County community.”
“As someone with years of experience in the transportation industry here in Howard County, I was so impressed by Zum’s operations and clear mission to modernize student transportation,” Moody said. “I’m excited by this opportunity to ensure all students in Howard County receive the safe, reliable and equitable service they deserve.”
Apply to be a Howard County school bus driver and learn more about Zum on the company’s website.
