Add as a preferred source on Google

Zum Debuts Electric School Buses in Two Calif. Districts

  • By Matt Jones
  • 03/07/22

Modern student transportation solutions company Zum announced recently that it has deployed its first batch of electric school buses. The six LionC electric school buses, manufactured by Lion Electric, are already serving students in the San Francisco Unified School District and the Oakland Unified School District, according to a press release.

Zum has also secured grants for more than 35 EV buses to flesh out OUSD’s electric fleet. It expects to convert 50 percent of the district’s buses to electric models by the end of the 2022–23 academic year.

"This marks an important point in our journey to lead the student transportation industry toward a zero-emission future," said Ritu Narayan, Zum’s CEO and founder. "The U.S. school bus fleet is double the size of all other mass transit combined and is a major contributor to the nation's carbon emissions. Our aim to make Zum's entire fleet electric by 2025 is rooted in creating a safer, healthier and more sustainable planet for all."

The press release reports that out of about 500,000 U.S. school buses, about 90 percent run on diesel and emit about 8.4 million metric tons of greenhouse gas per year. The LionC electric buses can travel as far as 125 miles on a single charge, reduce maintenance costs by 60 percent and reduce energy costs by up to 80 percent. Zum has also installed charging stations at each school that received an electric bus, and the company is working with the local community to flesh out a wider network of charging stations.

"We're proud to have a partner in Zum, who matches the district's commitment of making the environment and communities our students live in cleaner and healthier," said Kimberley Raney, OUSD’s Executive Director of Procurement, Transportation & Warehouse. "With the introduction of the first Zum electric school bus at OUSD and grants secured for over 35 additional electric buses, we are thrilled to begin our school transportation fleet's transition to electric and reach zero emission for half of our district transportation in the coming year."

The press release adds that the buses come equipped with Zum’s platform to provide drivers with route and navigation updates, help districts manage operations and give families full transparency and visibility. The cloud-based, multi-modal platform helps integrate district fleets to meet the needs of students, schools, districts, administrators and operators.

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • UCNJ Launches $30M Modernization of Physical Education Center

    The Union College of Union County (UCNJ) in Cranford, N.J., recently broke ground on a new $30-million modernization project for its Physical Education Center (PECK), according to a news release. The college partnered with DIGroup Architecture for the project’s design, transitioning the existing 42,000-square-foot structure into a campus hub for student athletics and campus life.

  • Empowering People Through Smart, Sustainable Campuses

    Sustainability is facing increasing scrutiny, with some questioning its costs and priorities. Yet for universities, it remains an essential driver of resilience, operational efficiency and long-term competitiveness. At the same time, there is a growing recognition that sustainable transformation is not just about reducing energy consumption and emissions to comply with tightening regulations ‒ it’s about creating vibrant, comfortable environments where people can thrive, innovate and connect. For university leadership, this is a complex balancing act, with rising energy costs and limited budgets only adding to the challenge.

  • Three U.S. Universities Install Acre Security Access Control Platform

    Cloud-native physical and digital security solutions company Acre Security recently announced that it has deployed its access control platform at three major universities in the U.S., according to a news release. Acre partnered with Atrium Campus to provide coverage for more than 69,000 students at the University of Virginia (UVA), George Mason University, and Rockhurst University.

  • concentric silhouettes of a human head

    How Physical Space Shapes the Mind: Designing for Better Learning Outcomes

    Research in environmental psychology and neuroscience increasingly suggests that the way a room is designed can influence memory, focus, or even a student's sense of belonging.

Digital Edition