Transforming Student Transportation

Kansas City Public Schools (KCPS), in Missouri, significantly improved their student experience and academic readiness by overhauling its transportation system, focusing on four crucial areas: student achievement, modern technology, driver experience, and stakeholder feedback. This transformation addressed long‑standing reliability issues and introduced technology‑driven, safety‑focused solutions that strengthened daily school operations and supported better student outcomes.

Executive Summary & Background

KCPS, which serves more than 15,000 students across a geographically diverse region and a complex service model—including neighborhood schools, magnet schools, overflow schools, and grandfathered ridership guidelines requiring cross-district travel—had faced decades-long challenges with student transportation.

The district struggled with uncovered routes, severe driver shortages, limited data visibility, rising operational costs, and growing frustration from families due to unreliable service and outdated routing systems.

Before modernization:

• The previous contractor operated an aging fleet
• Routing was performed with legacy software that required manual updates
• Communication was limited, with no mobile app for families or administrators
• Driver shortages created daily unpredictability including extremely delayed and frequently cancelled routes

By partnering with a technology-driven transportation provider and implementing a modern, data-enabled approach, KCPS achieved significant improvements in reliability, safety, and communication. Within one year, the district deployed modern technology, addressed major driver shortages, improved on-time performance, and strengthened community trust through greater transparency and consistent service.

The Challenge

KCPS’s transportation system was struggling to meet the needs of students and families. Key issues included:

• 25% driver shortages: 30 driver shortages (of 120 total drivers needed), representing a 25% driver shortage that was compounded by high driver absences.
• No reliable data tracking: No data management system to monitor on time performance.
• Limited visibility and communication: Families and schools had no real time tracking or capability to contact support or give feedback effectively.
• Instructional time lost: Transportation-related disruptions adversely impacted student time in the classroom.
• Failing audit and compliance: Consistently failed to meet state reporting requirements.
• Aging fleet: An aging fleet—prone to breakdowns and lacking air conditioning and modern technology—contributed to chronic absenteeism, family frustration, staff fatigue, and instability in district funding.

The Transformation

One year prior to a bid process, the district began collecting data and engaging all stakeholders for feedback to identify priorities and areas of concern related to transportation. Input was gathered from parents, teachers, building administrators, support staff, special education, students-in-transition, student support staff, central office administrators, bus drivers, transportation staff, athletics, community partners, and board members.

By November, the district launched a comprehensive bid process focused on solving its greatest operational gaps:

• Transitioning to a technology‑enabled fleet with GPS, safety monitoring, and real‑time data
• Implementing dynamic routing software to optimize routes and reduce ride times
• Introducing a family app for real‑time bus tracking and communication
• Deploying a continuous training and onboarding plan to drivers and monitors
• Establishing a data dashboard for district leaders to monitor performance daily
• Solving the long-standing driver shortage

The goal was simple: Identify and implement a technology-led, data-driven solution with measurable outcomes to create a safe, reliable, modern transportation system that bolsters student achievement.

Implementation Approach

By March, the district had identified a transportation partner and co-created an implementation strategy with clear timelines and key milestones. This was organized in three phases:

Phase 1: Planning & Data Audit

• Fully assess staffing levels and fleet needs
• Assess facilities & renovations
• Conduct a full route analysis
• Identify inefficiencies and equity gaps
• Engage families, drivers, and school leaders

Phase 2: Technology Rollout

• Prioritize partnership launch & hiring initiatives
• Integrate technology with SIS system
• Establish cadence of communication with key metrics
• Introduce tech‑enabled buses
• rain staff on new tracking apps & reporting
• Launch the family communication app

Phase 3: Optimization & Continuous Improvement

• Weekly performance reviews with transportation partner
• Weekly staff training on bus app tracking and reporting
• Fully engage leadership team on weekly feedback
• 30-day stakeholder feedback on implementation/progress
• Align district practices to transportation guidelines

Results & Impact: Quantitative Outcomes

Stakeholders Feedback

• 97% of stakeholders rated overall service as reliable
• 96% of stakeholders rated overall OTP as consistent
• 91% of stakeholders rated modern technology as positive

Student-Centered Outcomes

The modernization directly improved student experience:

• Transportation absences decreased by 86% (from 2024-2025) driven by modern, reliable transportation
• The graduation rate reached a decade high of 88.6%
• Student attendance increased by 2.5% district-wide
• Student extracurricular competitive access increased 150+%

Transportation became a lever for access, strengthening students’ ability to fully participate in all program activities and significantly improving the overall student experience while meeting and/or exceeding district goals.

Stakeholder Perspectives: Superintendent

“Zum’s proven track record, along with its enhanced communication and equity-focused decision making, has greatly benefited our students, families, and drivers. In Kansas City, we appreciate their commitment to safety, efficiency, transparency, and student-centered, technology-led, and data-driven approach. It has been a game-changer for KCPS and our community.”

Dr. Jennifer Collier
Superintendent
Kansas City Public Schools

Learn more at www.ridezum.com.

The views expressed are those of the content sponsor and do not reflect those of School Transportation News.

The post Challenging the Status Quo: How Kansas City Public Schools Paved the Way for Modern Student Mobility appeared first on School Transportation News.

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. — Today, Zūm, the leader in modern student transportation, announced that it will deploy a fully electric school bus fleet for Branford Public Schools beginning in the 2026–27 school year, making Branford the largest fully electric school district with vehicle-to-grid (V2G) capabilities in the Northeast. All electric buses will be supported by modern charging infrastructure, with built-in bidirectional V2G capabilities.

This announcement represents a significant moment for Branford and the evolution of student transportation nationwide. As the largest school district in the Northeast to fully electrify its school bus fleet, Branford is demonstrating that clean, reliable electric student transportation is not a future ambition, but a current possibility for school districts across the country.

The electric fleet is designed with the future capability to strengthen grid resilience by enabling school bus batteries to return energy to the local grid at scale when not in use. This vehicle-to-grid capacity transforms what has traditionally been an underutilized asset into a strategic energy resource — improving reliability, maximizing the value of district infrastructure, and supporting long-term sustainability.

Zum also provides the students and parents of Branford Public Schools with enhanced safety and reliability, reflected in a 98% on-time arrival rate to school. Through its parent app, families can see exactly where their children are during every ride to and from school — creating peace of mind for families each day.

Zum and Branford Public Schools announced the initiative today at Zum’s Branford student transportation yard during an event attended by local and state leaders, including Lieutenant Governor Susan Bysiewicz.

Photo caption: Left to right: Sarah Skinner, Zum; Liz Sanchez, Zum; Chairman Peter Berdon;
Lieutenant Governor Susan Bysiewicz; Superintendent Tranberg, Branford Public Schools;
Blaize Levitan, COO, Branford Public Schools; Jim Finch, Town of Branford; and
Charlotte Charbono, Zum.

“This marks a major milestone in Zum’s continued national electrification expansion and an exciting moment for student transportation,” said Ritu Narayan, Founder and CEO of Zum. “As we expand our electrification efforts to the East Coast and launch our first fully electric school bus fleet in the region, Branford is helping set a new national standard. With Zum’s technology platform and this state-of-the-art EV fleet, we are reimagining what’s possible — building a modern transportation system rooted in operational excellence and a relentless focus on safety that improves the experience for students, families, and drivers, sets kids up for success in the classroom, strengthens grid reliability and resiliency, and delivers lasting benefits to the entire community.”

“Branford Public Schools, in partnership with Zum, is committed to delivering a first-class transportation system that prioritizes students and families while setting a new standard for safety, reliability, and sustainability,” said Superintendent Christopher Tranberg. “Electric school buses with bidirectional charging capabilities create cleaner transportation today and have the potential to support grid resilience by returning energy from bus batteries back to the grid in the future.”

“Branford is proving that clean, reliable student transportation is possible today,” said Lieutenant Governor Susan Bysiewicz. “By deploying the largest fully electric school bus fleet in the Northeast, we are delivering cleaner air for kids, smarter infrastructure for communities, and a model for the nation.”

Photo caption: Lieutenant Governor Susan Bysiewicz delivers remarks at Zum’s Branford school bus yard.

In 2024, Branford Public Schools awarded Zum a 10-year student transportation contract with the goal of transitioning the district to a 100% electric school bus fleet within five years. Through its partnership with Zum, Branford Public Schools is now on track to achieve this transition within the first two years of the contract—three years ahead of schedule.

This achievement builds on Zum’s growing national momentum. Today, Zum partners with school districts across 15 states, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Omaha, Boston and Kansas City, delivering a fully integrated, transparent, and reliable transportation platform at scale. In the 2024–25 school year, Zum made history by deploying the nation’s first fully electric school bus fleet in Oakland Unified School District in California.

To learn more about how Zum is working with thousands of schools to deliver safe, reliable and modern student transportation, please visit Zum’s website.

About Zūm

Zum is a technology-led, data-driven transportation company transforming student transportation—the largest mass transit system in the United States. Today, Zum provides turnkey, modern transportation solutions to more than 4,000 schools across 15 states and is expanding rapidly nationwide. Recognized globally for its innovative approach and operational execution, Zum has raised over $350 million from leading investors including Sequoia Capital, GIC, and SoftBank. Zum has been named to Fast Company’s World’s Most Innovative Companies, CNBC Disruptor 50 and Changemakers, the World Economic Forum, and the Financial Times Fastest Growing Companies. Learn more at www.ridezum.com.

About Branford Public Schools

Located in Branford, Connecticut, Branford Public Schools provides a high-quality, inclusive public education for students from pre-kindergarten through grade 12. The district is committed to academic excellence, student well-being, and equitable learning opportunities that prepare students to think critically, contribute to their communities, and navigate a changing world.

The post Zum Launches Its First Fully Electric School Bus Yard on East Coast appeared first on School Transportation News.