versation is different, the focus is always on one question: Does this company have the same values and goals that Beacon holds? “We have found that if there is a cultural fit, most chal- lenges can be overcome,” Crawford noted. “We look for partners who care, who are passionate, and who want the best for their people. Finding common ground in our desire to provide mobility without limits has worked incredibly well for us so far.” Crawford said Beacon’s team of 10,000 employees
currently operates a fleet of over 7,600 vehicles, 6,500 of which are school buses. Beacon currently services more than 520 customers. “We believe that makes us the fourth largest private school transportation provider in the U.S.,” Crawford said.
Not Reinventing the Wheel But How it Rolls Zūm founder and CEO Ritu Narayan concedes her com-
pany’s name was suggested by a 12-year-old because that’s the sound children make when they are imitating vehicles. The spelling of the word, German for “to,” was not. And if those familiar with the industry are reminded
of transportation network giants Uber and Lyft when the curtain is pulled back on Zūm’s operation model, it’s understandable.
But unlike her counterpart at Beacon, Narayan insists
that any similarity between her company and the two transportation network companies is purely coinci- dental. Zūm, she said, has much more impact. And as indicated on its website, she said Zūm is reimagining student transportation. “Zūm is providing for parents in a model that re- sembles Uber and Lyft, but we realize that we can have an even greater impact by actually supporting the public-school districts,” Narayan said. “The school trans- portation system is the largest mass transit system in the U.S. … but the system is really stuck in old age.” Narayan continued saying that for 80 years relatively
little has changed in traditional student transportation in terms of promoting a one-size-fits-all approach. “Parents started telling us we can track our food [online], but we have no idea where our kids are once they are on the bus,” Narayan said. “So, our business model is actually way beyond [Uber and Lyft] and very unique because we are modernizing the student transportation industry.” Narayan still holds that school buses are the best way
for students to travel and, when circumstances war- rant, Zūm deploys school buses equipped with the latest technology and an app that the driver will use in that situ- ation. If there are less than 20 people on the app, a smaller
28 School Transportation News • JUNE 2022
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