Inaugural New York Mobility Summit to explore impact of technology-driven student mobility on improving education outcomes

Event marks growing national momentum as Zum expands across 18 states

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.,, July 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Zūm, the leading AI-powered technology platform in student mobility, will bring together transportation officials, education leaders, policymakers, and industry experts at Nasdaq MarketSite in New York City for its first east coast Mobility Summit, a gathering focused on how technology and AI are transforming student mobility, access to education, and learning outcomes.

“Transportation is access to education,” said Ritu Narayan, Founder and CEO of Zum. “When transportation works, students can arrive on time and ready to learn. When it doesn’t, families experience stress, students miss instructional time, and educational outcomes suffer. Reimagining this system has the potential to improve outcomes for millions of students.”

Every day, approximately 26 million students ride a school bus—roughly nine times more people than fly on U.S. airlines. Yet student mobility remains one of the most fragmented and overlooked systems in America. The summit will feature conversations with school district leaders, transportation experts and policymakers on how technology and AI are transforming the student mobility experience through improved reliability, transparency, safety, and efficiency, designed to ensure transportation is never a barrier to education.

The event comes amid significant momentum for Zum, which has served more than 6,500  schools across 18 states and safely completed 68.5 million student rides in 2025. As school districts increasingly seek technology-driven solutions to improve access to education and create a more reliable and transparent transportation experience, Zum continues to expand its Connected Mobility Experience (CMX^TM) system nationwide, delivering measurable outcomes, including:

• Achieved an average 98% on-time performance across Zum-operated districts during the 2025–2026 school year 
• Parent satisfaction ratings of 4.9 out of 5 stars across 1.7 million reviews
• Transportation cost savings through route optimization and fleet efficiency
• Significant reductions in student commute times
• Improved attendance and educational access, including an 89% increase in ridership and a reduction in transportation-related absences from 25% to 5.6% in Kansas City Public Schools

Featured speakers – including transportation leaders from San Francisco Unified School District, Kansas City Public Schools, Oakland Unified School District, Branford Public Schools and other districts – will discuss firsthand how Zum’s CMX system delivered these results in their communities.

The program will feature two keynote fireside conversations moderated by Ritu Narayan, Founder & CEO of Zum. The first will feature former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, whose audit of New York City’s school transportation system brought renewed attention to longstanding operational challenges and opportunities for reform. Together, they will discuss the future of student transportation, the role of public policy, and how technology can help modernize one of the nation’s largest public mobility systems. Ritu will also be joined by David Crane, Chief Executive Officer of Generate Capital, for a conversation exploring the intersection of infrastructure, AI, electrification, and long-term investment. Together, they will discuss how public-private partnerships and innovative financing can accelerate the modernization of student transportation while strengthening critical infrastructure for communities nationwide.

The summit will also mark the launch of Narayan’s forthcoming book, which explores what she calls “America’s most important commute”—the daily journey that connects 26 million students to educational opportunity. Drawing on her experience building Zum, the book examines how one of the nation’s largest and most overlooked public systems became ripe for innovation and why reimagining student mobility represents a powerful example of American dynamism at work. It offers a behind-the-scenes look at the challenges and opportunities of transforming an industry that sits at the intersection of education, technology, infrastructure, workforce development, and energy—and has the potential to improve academic outcomes for millions of students and families.

“People often think we’re in the transportation business,” Narayan added. “The reality is we’re in the access-to-education business. Technology, operations, transportation infrastructure, and electrification are all tools that help ensure every student can get to school safely, reliably, and ready to learn. When 26 million students rely on a school bus every day, improving transportation isn’t just a mobility challenge—it’s an opportunity to strengthen educational outcomes, support working families, and invest in America’s future.”

Today, Zum partners with school districts including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Boston, Omaha, Kansas City, and hundreds of communities nationwide. Through its Zum CMX^TM platform, Zum integrates routing, dispatch, safety, fleet management, workforce operations, and electrification into a single operating system designed specifically for student transportation.

About Zum

Zum is revolutionizing mass mobility with its Connected Mobility Experience (CMX) system that connects and coordinates people, vehicles, and operations in real time. In the student mobility market—the largest segment of the mass mobility industry—Zum CMX is transforming a daily source of anxiety and disruption into a reliable, transparent, and efficient mobility experience for students and families. Learn more at www.ridezum.com.

Today, more than 6,500 schools in 18 states have relied on the Zum CMX^TM system. Recognized globally for its innovative approach and operational execution, Zum has been named to Fast Company’s World’s Most Innovative Companies, CNBC Disruptor 50 and Changemakers, the World Economic Forum, and the Financial Times’ Fastest Growing Companies lists. Zum is backed by leading investors including Sequoia Capital, GIC, SoftBank, and TPG.

Media Contact

Jenny Mayfield
Vice President of Communications
press@ridezum.com

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SOURCE Zūm