Zonar Systems made its name in the school bus and trucking industries for its vehicle inspection, GPS and telematics solutions. Now, add routing to the list.

Powered by ez enRoute, which it closed its acquisition of on Sept. 16, Zonar is expanding its technology portfolio by offering an all-in-one routing ecosystem. Bus Suite, which the company said is designed to improve safety, efficiency and communication, was demoed at the STN EXPO West Ride and Drive in July. It is currently available.

Terms of the deal were not made public.

Benefits of Bus Suite, according to a press release, include independent, adaptive routing, increased visibility into student ridership, cloud-based operational oversight, and integrated parent mobile application.

Amit Anand, founder of ez enRoute and now Zonar’s senior vice president of product, said school districts can use it as a standalone routing platform or integrate it with an existing routing provider.

“This flexibility means districts no longer need to rely solely on third-party routing and can modernize operations without costly overhaul,” he added.

For existing customers, Anand noted that Bus Suites combines with Zonar telematics devices, in-cab tablets, Z-pass student ridership data, and live bus route monitoring in one dashboard. It also integrates with student information systems to deliver student roster data into the Bus Suite platform, which Zonar said eases the onboarding process.

“Instead of juggling multiple systems, drivers, dispatchers and parents, [everyone] can stay connected through one platform with real-time visibility of every bus, student, and stop,” Annad continued.

For new customers, he said Bus Suite offers an “all-in-one solution that helps districts of all sizes seamlessly modernize operations with routing, ridership, parent communication, and fleet oversight. This results in simpler operations and greater confidence in daily performance.”

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Charles Kriete, CEO of Zonar, also said in a statement that adding ez enRoute to the Zonar portfolio enables the company to deliver greater value to customers.

“We’re not just in the school bus business, we’re in the business of access to education, and we take this mission seriously,” he commented. “As districts nationwide face ongoing driver shortages, the launch of Zonar Bus Suite plays a vital role in modernizing operations, keeping families informed and ensuring safe, reliable student transportation.”

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SEATTLE, Wash. – Zonar, a leader in commercial vehicle fleet health and safety, is advancing its commitment to school transportation with two strategic moves.

Zonar has acquired ez enRoute, a provider of IoT technology and dynamic routing for pupil transportation. The acquisition expands Zonar’s technology portfolio and strengthens its position as the leading provider of smarter, more adaptable solutions for school districts.

Powered by ez enRoute’s independent routing engine, the company is launching Zonar Bus Suite, an integrated, all-in-one routing ecosystem designed to improve safety, efficiency and communication. For districts of any size, Zonar Bus Suite plugs into any transportation system with or without an existing routing provider, making it easy to modernize operations without costly overhauls.

Zonar is trusted with the world’s most precious cargo – our children – and is deeply committed to that responsibility. Every mile, every stop and every innovation are driven by the company’s mission to protect student riders and empower communities. The power of these two fleet technology companies challenges outdated systems and sets a new standard for student transportation: one that keeps families, drivers and schools seamlessly connected.

“Joining Zonar marks an exciting step forward in our mission to transform student transportation,” said Amit Anand, founder, ez enRoute. “Our combined expertise in the school transportation space makes this partnership a perfect fit to evolve our capabilities into a unified, all-in-one platform.”

With Bus Suite, school districts will benefit from advanced technical capabilities, such as:

Independent, Adaptive Routing: ez enRoute’s advanced routing engine, built into Zonar Bus Suite, delivers real-time, turn-by-turn directions without the need for a separate routing provider. Dispatchers can customize routes, make live adjustments and communicate changes directly to drivers and parents through the Zonar platform. Drivers can view assigned stops, students and routes on the Zonar-provided tablet.

Increased Visibility into Student Ridership: By combining Zonar Z Pass® student ridership data, Zonar Bus Suite enables drivers and substitutes to see who has boarded or exited the bus in real time. They also receive alerts if a student boards the wrong bus or exits at the wrong stop, along with special student instructions. This integration helps substitute drivers safeguard student riders.

Cloud-Based Operational Oversight: The Zonar Bus Suite dashboard allows schools to monitor live bus runs, track fleet performance, access student manifest reports and provide parents with accurate ETAs and student location updates in real time.

Integrated Parent Mobile Application: Parents can track school bus locations and receive route notifications and alerts through the Zonar Bus Suite Parent app, ensuring they’re instantly informed of any changes or delays.

“Bringing ez enRoute into the Zonar portfolio enables us to deliver greater value to our customers,” said Charles Kriete, CEO, Zonar. “We’re not just in the school bus business, we’re in the business of access to education, and we take this mission seriously. As districts nationwide face ongoing driver shortages, the launch of Zonar Bus Suite plays a vital role in modernizing operations, keeping families informed and ensuring safe, reliable student transportation.”

Zonar delivers cutting-edge technology to pupil fleets across the Americas. Zonar Bus Suite integrates all aspects of fleet management into one platform, including Zonar’s state-of-charge data for electric buses, predictive maintenance insights, Zonar Coach on-board vehicle cameras, and Zonar Z Pass® for student ridership management to protect everyone on the bus and on the road. The platform gives dispatchers the ability to customize routes and monitor live operations, ensuring full visibility into the entire transportation system.

For the latest updates and announcements, follow Zonar on LinkedIn.

About ez enRoute:
ez enRoute is an IoT/AI company deploying state-of-the-art technology to help make our world smarter and safer. By building an IoT platform through cloud-based services, which includes intelligent routing and logistics software for school transportation, enabling districts to optimize operations and improve service reliability.

About Zonar:
Zonar (https://www.zonarsystems.com/) is the trusted leader in proven fleet management solutions for pupil transportation, small- to mid-sized businesses, enterprise fleets and public sector organizations across the Americas. The Zonar mission is to stand by its customers as a partner to ensure fleets run better, safer and more efficiently. Whatever the fleet size, customers rely on Zonar to help solve real-world problems. Headquartered in Seattle, Zonar has been delivering fleet management solutions to its customers for more than 20 years. Zonar has operations in West Chicago and Cincinnati. Available 24/7, reach Zonar at info@zonarsystems.com or (877) 843-3847.

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Running a lean, mean, efficient student transportation fleet takes serious coordination and tech. Replace the clutter of multiple, disconnected systems with an all-in-one school bus ecosystem that combines proven advanced routing, added student safety, and leading fleet telematics onto one platform.

Download this complimentary white paper to learn more about simplifying with one smart platform.

• Read about enhancing operational efficiency by streamlining daily workflows.
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Fill out the form below and then check your email for the white paper download link.

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SEATTLE, Wash. – Zonar, a leader in commercial vehicle fleet health and safety, today announced the launch of Zonar Ignition, a next-generation cloud-based fleet management platform designed to replace the industry’s fragmented legacy systems with unified, real-time insights. Coming nine months after Zonar’s merger with GPS Trackit, Ignition reflects the company’s accelerated pace of innovation and focus on delivering joint value to customers.

Zonar Ignition helps fleets maximize uptime, reduce costs and respond to challenges faster through three core features that define a modern fleet management platform:

Integration-Ready: Built on a flexible framework, the cloud-based Ignition platform seamlessly integrates Zonar data with third-party data sources. An open API combined with the ability to build sophisticated artificial intelligence (AI) modules, Zonar provides its customers with a more customizable and efficient experience.

One Screen, Total Control: Ignition consolidates and displays all crucial fleet and third-party data on one screen. A single-pane-of-glass view allows operators to assess the status of vehicles, drivers, and assets in real time on a single high-resolution map, rather than navigating through tabs to collect insights to make data-driven decisions.
Actionable Insights, Real-Time Results: Through Zonar’s market-leading hardware, Ignition aggregates data from its TCU hardware, compliance solutions, driver behavior monitoring systems and third-party systems into personalized reports. Interactive dashboards surface key performance indicators, including fuel usage, route efficiency and safety events, and enable drill-downs that drive continuous operational improvements. More than 30 detailed reports and personalized dashboards are available. From real-time KPIs and granular driver and vehicle data, to live alerts on speeding, idling, or off-route activity, Ignition diagnostics help improve safety and efficiency while increasing uptime with scheduled maintenance and preemptive alerts.

“Whether it’s a school bus, sanitation truck or specialized utility vehicle, for too long fleet managers have had to choose between clunky workflows or unreliable data when managing drivers, vehicles and other critical business assets,” said Charles Kriete, CEO, Zonar. “We saw a clear need for something faster, smarter and more efficient. With Ignition, we’ve brought together the best of Zonar and GPS Trackit to give fleets a single window into unified workflows and manage all aspects of vehicles, drivers and assets. This approach helps derisk operations and delivers actionable analytics through actionable intelligence. This platform is not just for our current customers, but for any fleet looking for a better, more connected way to run their operations.”

The launch of Zonar Ignition underscores the company’s role as both a trusted partner and an innovator in fleet technology. A pivotal step in Zonar’s ongoing mission to help fleets operate at their highest potential, Ignition’s platform is designed to meet today’s operational demands and evolve with future transportation challenges.

The first major milestone since Zonar’s merger with GPS Trackit on December 3, 2024, Zonar Ignition signals the combined company’s ability to innovate quickly and deliver value at scale. By uniting Zonar’s telematics expertise with GPS Trackit’s scalable platform, the company is accelerating cloud-based fleet visibility, analytics, and AI-driven insights. Ignition also integrates with Zonar’s proprietary technologies, including EVIR for electronic inspections, CARB tools for emissions compliance, Z Pass for student rider visibility, and Zonar Coach for driver safety coaching, giving fleets a single platform to optimize operations, improve safety, and reduce costs.

For the latest updates and announcements, follow Zonar on LinkedIn.

About Zonar
Zonar (https://www.zonarsystems.com/) is the trusted leader in proven fleet management solutions for pupil transportation, small-to mid-sized businesses, enterprise fleets, and public sector organizations across the Americas. The Zonar mission is to stand by its customers as a partner to ensure fleets run better, safer and more efficiently. Whatever the fleet size, customers rely on Zonar to help solve real-word problems. Headquartered in Seattle, Zonar has been delivering fleet management solutions to its customers for more than 20 years. Zonar has operations in West Chicago and Cincinnati. Available 24/7, reach Zonar at info@zonarsystems.com or (877) 843-3847.

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RENO, Nev. – Zonar CEO Charles Kriete promoted technology-driven solutions to the many challenges facing school transportation such as school bus driver deficits, illegal passings, onboard student bullying and budget squeezes.

“The path forward is a connected data system,” he declared during his CEO Tech Talk Sunday morning at STN EXPO West. He explained that elements, including AI-powered video leading to actionable insights, telematics, route optimization, and real-time parent connection, can be used to help inform school district personnel and vendor partners for a smoother overall operation.

He explained Zonar’s all-in-one solution with optimized routing, turn-by-turn driver directions, electronic vehicle inspection, electric school bus monitoring, GPS, stop arm cameras, real-time diagnostics, internal cameras, maintenance data, student ridership tracking, a parent app and more.

The company listened to what student transporters wanted and is leveraging AI to optimize operations, Kriete underscored.

“Not artificial intelligence, actionable intelligence,” he quipped. “Data is a very valuable thing but there’s a lot of time spent trying to convert that data into something useful.”

Safety and efficiency are paramount, he summed up. He encouraged attendees to remember that they are in the business of student access to education and must keep that as the priority.

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