Zum Awarded Over $26 Million From EPA For Clean School Buses

India-West Staff Reporter

REDWOOD CITY, CA –  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that Zūm will receive over $26 million through the EPA’s first Clean School Bus Program Grants Competition.

The funding will help Zum, the leader in modern student transportation, as it transitions its fleet of school buses to 100% electric school buses. Made possible through President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, the grant will also accelerate the expansion of Zum’s 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.

Founded and led by a first-generation immigrant and mother, Ritu Narayan, Zum is reimagining the yellow school bus system. Thousands of schools across the country have partnered with Zum for school transportation, including Los Angeles Unified School District, the second-largest district in the country; San Francisco Unified School District; Seattle Public Schools; Howard County Public Schools; Oakland Unified School District; and Metro Nashville Public Schools.

“We commend the Administration’s tireless work to advance the acceleration of student transportation into a green era,” said CEO Ritu Narayan. “At Zum, our goal is to ensure that all students have access to safe, reliable, and sustainable transportation, and this grant award will propel our electrification efforts in many of the districts that we serve. We are grateful and honored to be a part of this initiative.”

Narayan led teams at Oracle, Yahoo, IBM and eBay. A graduate of the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, Narayan earned her undergraduate degree in computer science at the Delhi Institute of Technology. She lives in California, USA with her husband and two children. 

EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan said, “I’ve sat next to students on their very first clean school bus ride and their excitement reflects the power of good policy. Thanks to President Biden’s historic investments in America, thousands more school buses will hit the road in school districts across the country, saving school districts money and improving air quality at the same time.”