New School Bus System in Roanoke City aims to ease the minds of parents
ROANOKE, Va. (WFXR)– In May, Roanoke City Public Schools announced a $77 million deal with Zum, a transportation company based out of California, working with the school division on their biggest problem: finding bus drivers.
On the identified issue organizers with Zum recognized with the pay local bus drivers in the area. As a result, Zum announced drivers’ starting pay will now be 25.50 an hour.
“We realized that part of the issue here in Roanoke City- as with many areas in the country- were the wages were too low. Far too low,” said John Gray, the Location Manager for Zum in Roanoke City. “You’re not going to attract good qualified candidates to come in and really want to help children.”
What Zum says sets them apart is their real-time data app, which is designed to ease the minds of parents.
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“Parents will be able to see that live view of where their children are at all times and they’ll get a view of the vehicle,” said Gray, “Will there be late trips? There’s always traffic- there’s always something going on- but getting that notification out on what is happening is gonna be instrumental.”
Zum says Roanoke City is just its beginning in the Valley. Over the next five years, it hopes to implement electric buses and expand to other districts.
“What we’re looking to do on day one is bring in a great service. But every day afterward is to constantly improve the service- give better quality transportation to students- give better access for parents to see what’s going on and make a seamless transportation service where we’re part of the community,” said Gray.
Roanoke City Public Schools told WFXR News that even before their partnership with Zum, many other companies recommended changing the times for pick-ups and drop-offs because they were too close together.
Zum and the city say they are excited to work together to make children’s transportation easier in the new school year.
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