EPA Awards $32 Million to Zum to Accelerate the Electrification of School Bus Fleets Nationwide

Award Brings Zum’s Total EPA Funding to $58 Million, in Support of National Clean Bus Initiative

Zūm, the leader in modern student transportation, has been awarded $32 million from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean School Bus Program.

The funding, which brings Zum’s total awards from the EPA to $58 million, will enable Zum to deploy 117 electric school buses to its district partners across the U.S., including Branford Public Schools (CT), Reading Public Schools (PA), Alameda Unified School District (CA), Centinela Valley Union High School District (CA), Santa Barbara Unified School District (CA) and Spokane Public Schools (WA).

Additionally, Zum was waitlisted for $22.5 million to provide electric school buses for San Bernardino Unified School District, San Francisco Unified School District and Oakland Unified School District.

Overall, the EPA awards will enable Zum to deploy more than 200 electric school buses to school districts across the country. Made possible through President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, the grants will accelerate Zum’s transition to 100% electric school buses and expansion of its industry-leading AI-driven technology platform– a key tool in Zum’s effort to fully decarbonize the school bus industry and bolster the fight against climate change.

“We are entering a new era of student transportation, and we applaud the EPA’s commitment to improving the health of children and communities with cleaner, greener rides to and from school,” said Zum Founder and CEO Ritu Narayan. “I founded Zum with a mission to ensure all children have access to safe, reliable and sustainable transportation. This award propels our electrification efforts across the U.S., and we are honored to be part of this initiative.”

In January 2024, the EPA awarded Zum over $26 million to deploy electric school buses in school districts nationwide. In May, Zum announced that Oakland Unified School District will be the first major school district in the U.S. to transition to a 100% electrified school bus system with groundbreaking vehicle-to-grid technology.

Founded and led by a first-generation immigrant and mother, Ritu Narayan, Zum is reimagining the yellow school bus system through its innovative approach to digitization and electrification. Zum has unified parents, students, school administrators and drivers on a single personalized end-to-end technology platform, enabling never-before achieved levels of visibility and data-backed accountability, which has ushered in a new era of increased safety, reliability and sustainability for the school districts.

Zum manages and operates student transportation for school districts in 14 states, including California, Washington, Massachusetts, Maryland, Texas, Illinois, Tennessee, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Connecticut, and Missouri. To learn more about how Zum works with thousands of schools nationwide to deliver safe, reliable, equitable, and sustainable student transportation, please visit Zum’s website.

Category: Electric Vehicles, Engines & Drivetrains, Equipment, Featured, Fuel & Oil, General Update, Green, News, Safety, Transit News, Vehicles