Zum Howard County, MD

10/27/2023

In just 5 short months, Zum has navigated a nationwide driver shortage crisis that has impacted Howard County. Through an industry-leading driver recruitment and retention program, Zum initiated a comprehensive digital and in-person recruiting campaign, offering competitive pay and full medical benefits, 401(k) plans, PTO, and covering costs for drivers' certification and training.

We’re proud to report we’ve hired 251 school bus drivers and we celebrate this milestone with our amazing community! If you’re interested in joining our growing team, visit our website at https://www.ridezum.com/company/careers/careers-drivers/howard-county/.

10/23/2023

Zum announces significant progress to addressing Howard County Public School System’s longstanding bus driver shortage, with the hire of 251 school bus drivers in just 5 months.

"Our launch in Howard County was a uniquely complex endeavor, and I know the start of the school year caused difficulties and stress for the community. We're grateful for the patience and partnership of everyone involved, especially students, families, HCPSS and our drivers. I'm proud that we're working together to transform and improve the local school transportation system and serve all elementary, middle school, and high school students."
- Ritu Narayan, Founder and CEO of Zum.

Find out more at https://www.ridezum.com/press-release/turning-deficit-into-surplus-zum-fixes-howard-county-driver-shortage/

HOWARD COUNTY, Md., Oct. 17, 2023 – Zūm today announced significant progress toward ending Howard County Public School System’s (HCPSS) longstanding bus driver shortage, hiring 251 school bus drivers in just 5 months. Zum quickly transformed a persistent local driver deficit of over 100 drivers...

10/22/2023

Following an updated bell schedule, Zum is proud to announce a return to almost 100% on-time pickups over the past few weeks.

Zum partnered with HCPSS to improve on-time bus performance, with changes to the schedule informed by data and Zūm’s proprietary cloud-based software, leading to nearly 100% on-time pickups, substantially addressing on-time performance.

The tables show how Zūm’s on-time performance for pick ups has improved following changes to the bell schedule across the morning and afternoon shifts. Our CEO Ritu Narayan extends gratitude to families and bus drivers for their continuous support. While most routes excel, we’re dedicated to resolving minor afternoon drop-off delays.

09/28/2023

To all our Zūm drivers,

We know how hard you’re working to keep our community’s students moving, and getting them to and from school, safely and reliably.

From the team at Zūm, we thank each and every one of you for your valuable service, every day. 🙌🏼

09/21/2023

With HCPSS’ new schedules in place, we’re happy to report good news and improvement across the board.

🚀 On Time Performance
Morning routes went from 76% to 96-98% on time. Afternoon routes saw an improvement as well with Tier 3 bus routes going up from 25% to 90+% of buses completing their routes on time.

For more details on the data, see the latest update from the county https://news.hcpss.org/news-posts/2023/09/superintendent-transportation-update-sept-20-2023

✅ Route Coverage
Zūm continues to manage 210 routes, fully operational, with HCPSS overseeing and running the remaining routes.

Our goal is to ensure routes are covered, bus service is reliable, and children arrive on time. We want to thank HCPSS for working swiftly to resolve this difficult issue, the students and families of Howard County for their patience as we’ve worked through these challenges, and the bus drivers of Howard County, who continue to show up every day to do a fantastic job transporting our students and children. 🙌

Our team is standing by to support and engage with you here, on DMs, and on our official support channels.

I want to thank all of you as we implemented changes to school start times today. You have been phenomenal partners throughout this school year as we have dealt with our transportation challenges, and I want you to know that I appreciate you.

09/20/2023

Check out our FAQs for answers to top questions from parents, insights into the issues we’re facing, and how we’re striving to improve. 🚌

If you have any other questions, drop a comment below and we'll be happy to help. 👇🏻

09/11/2023

As of Friday, the Howard County Public School System has made the Zūm Parent App available for Howard County parents to download. The app will be operational on Monday September 11 and allow parents to receive notifications on who your driver is (for SPED students), when the bus is en route, track the bus to and from school, and receive timely notifications in the case of a delay.

Please note that, at the District’s request, there are a number of features in the Zūm Parent App that will not be available tomorrow. These include:

📱 Notifications are enabled only via in-App. Parents must log into the App to start receiving in-app notifications.

💬 You will not receive SMS and email notifications as they have been disabled per the District’s guidance.

👪 The app is only available to parents marked as the primary parent. The District allows two parents to be marked as the primary.

📝 At the District’s direction, RFID cards have not been rolled out in Howard County. Thus parents will only be able to track their child’s bus to and from school. You will not be able to track if your child has on-boarded and off-boarded the bus.

You can download the app today on the App Store and Google Play.

App Store (iOS)
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/zum/id1076430968

Google Play (Android)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ridezum.zum

We encourage you to watch the tutorial video for the app at https://vimeo.com/zumservices

If you have additional questions related to the App, please call our support team at 1-855-RIDEZUM (743-3986) or email them at [email protected]. They’ll be standing by to help you.

09/08/2023

To our Parents and Zūm Users,

A reminder that we’re posting updates on our blog at https://www.ridezum.com/blog/zum-howard-county-public-schools-system-updates/. If you have specific questions you can also reach out to us at [email protected]. 📧

🚌 We continue to work with the District regarding the afternoon route delays. The main challenge stems from Howard County's shift to a 3-tiered bell schedule at the start of the school year, a change from the previous 2-tiered system. This has lead to very tight stacking of routes, not allowing for enough time for drivers to deliver the rides to the timeliness standards we like to see when working with districts. We're working with the District to implement necessary adjustments and ensure improved timeliness on these outes.

📱Additionally, the Zum Parent App is now available for Howard County parents. You can download the App in the Apple Store or via Google Play. This will be a huge step forward in our ability to communicate with you and you with us.

App Store (iOS)
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/zum/id1076430968

Google Play (Android)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ridezum.zum

You can find a parent demo of the App at https://vimeo.com/zumservices.

Thank you and if you have any questions on the app please let us know.

09/06/2023

It’s the second day of the school week and our team has been at the yard and operations center ensuring we get back on track. 🚌

We remain committed to providing timely and reliable transportation to Howard County, and are actively working with HCPSS to resolve issues related to route stacking, which is a significant contributor to delays.

👉🏼 We’ll be back this afternoon with additional updates. If you have route specific questions please DM us.

We’ll also be posting regular updates here as well as on our blog at https://www.ridezum.com/blog/zum-howard-county-public-schools-system-updates/. Our comments are turned on and we're happy to answer any questions.

You can also find HCPSS updates at https://www.hcpss.org/2023-2024/transportation/

*Last updated September 8, 2023 **Note: We have modified this post to put daily updates near the top so they are more easily accessible. Content is unchanged.

09/04/2023

To our Parents and Zūm Users,

We're actively working with HCPSS to solve all existing issues. Please know that the safe and reliable transportation of your children remains our top priority.

Here's a summary of the significant steps we've taken in the past week to resolve the situation:

🚌Onboarding New Drivers: In the midst of a national driver shortage, we’ve worked around the clock to certify and onboard new drivers, bolstering our driver fleet.

⏱️Route Refinements and Improvements: We’ve digitized routes, updated our GPS systems, and are working closely with HCPSS to improve route stacking and timings. We’ve also staggered bus departures to reduce yard traffic, which has led to 95% of our buses being on-time for their first stop.

📱Zūm Parent App: As of last Friday, HCPSS began conducting a pilot of the Zūm Parent App, with the goal to deploy the app broadly to all parents and guardians, allowing you to follow your children’s rides in real-time. You’ll hear from HCPSS soon about a broader rollout to improve transparency and communication.

We know it’s impossible to state how challenging this week has been for you and other parents and students in Howard County. We're listening to your concerns, open to your feedback, and working everyday to restore full service quickly.

Please refer to this page and https://www.ridezum.com/blog/zum-howard-county-public-schools-system-updates which were actively updating with the latest information. Your trust in us means a lot, and we're committed to earning it back through hard work and dedication. 🙌🏼

Zum is honored to serve the students and families of the Howard County Public School System. Getting students to and from school safely and reliably is our number one priority. We know that disruptions to transportation this week have been an enormous stress on parents and children. For that, we wou...

08/01/2023

Save the date - August back to school event

The first day of school is quickly approaching. For our drivers and recruits we have some important dates coming up to mark on your calendars:

1️. Bid Day and Zūm Orientation - 08/21
You will get to bid for the routes of your choosing and get driver tablet training on Monday, August 21.

2️. Kickoff Event - 08/22
Join us on Tuesday, August 22 at 8459 Dorsey Run Road for a team-building Back to School Kickoff Event! Our Zūm leadership and Howard County team have planned an exciting orientation and appreciation day. There will be gifts, raffles and amazing food. You will be inspired by our team's passion for safe and reliable transportation as we unveil our exciting plans to serve the families and students of Howard County in the school year ahead.
Invite your friends, spread the word, and let's celebrate the joy of learning and new adventures! We can't wait to see you there!

3️. Dry Runs - 08/23 to 08/25
We are here to ensure a smooth transition for our incredible drivers. From 08/23 to 08/25, we'll be conducting Dry Runs on our driver tablets and new buses to ensure seamless rides for the first day of school. Our team and drivers are committed to making every journey safe and worry-free!

4️. Day One for School - 08/28
The big day is here! Welcome back to school.
On August 28th, Zūm will be by your side as we start the new school year together. We are excited for a new year with clean, modern buses with new safety features that will bring parents peace of mind. It's going to be a fantastic start to an amazing year ahead!

08/01/2023

Welcome Back, Amazing School Bus Drivers!
As the summer quickly winds down, and with the school year set to begin again soon, we are proud to welcome all our dedicated school bus drivers back to the helm! Your unwavering commitment to safety, compassion, and excellence has been the driving force behind our success.

To our seasoned veterans, thank you for your years of service and the incredible impact you've made in the lives of countless students. Your expertise and experience are invaluable, and we're thrilled to have you leading the way once again.

And to our newest members, a heartfelt welcome to the Zūm family! You've chosen an incredible profession that plays a vital role in shaping young minds and keeping our communities connected. We're excited to have you on board and look forward to witnessing your growth and success as you embark on this fulfilling journey as school bus drivers.

To our exceptional driver trainers, we salute you for the invaluable work you do. Your dedication to ensuring that each and every driver receives the best training possible is what sets us apart as a company. Your passion for safety, your patience, and your ability to inspire and empower new drivers is truly commendable. Together, we are making a significant difference in the lives of our passengers, their families, and our communities.

This school year, let's renew our commitment to safety, professionalism, and kindness. Our responsibility is great, but so is the impact we can have on the lives of the students we transport. Let's strive to create a warm and welcoming environment on each bus, where students feel safe, respected, and excited about their journey to and from school.

Here's to a fantastic and successful school year ahead! Let's hit the road with enthusiasm, compassion, and a whole lot of school spirit!