Logistics is a major understated challenge of parenthood. Getting kids to and from school while juggling work and other commitments is a huge cause of stress.
Ritu Narayan founded Zum in 2014 as an Uber-like service for kids while getting her MBA at Stanford. The idea took off among Silicon Valley parents, but Narayan soon set her sights on bigger fish: school buses, or what she calls “the largest transportation system in the country.”
Zum’s business includes fully electric fleets of school buses paired with digital tools for parents to monitor when and where their kids are traveling. In 2020, Oakland Unified became its first school-district partner.
Now operating in 14 states, working with over 4,000 schools and managing a fleet of 3,000 vehicles and drivers, Zum is the sole bus operator in Oakland with a major presence in San Francisco and other Bay Area cities. Los Angeles is its largest contract.
Bolstered by state and federal grants, the company aims to expand nationwide and eventually internationally with no signs of slowing down. Just this year, the company raised a $114 million Series E round and received a $26 million grant from the EPA.