Zūm’s 2024 Student Transportation Report Card Highlights Parental Concerns and Preferences

Zūm, a leader in modern student transportation, has released the 2024 results from its annual Student Transportation Report Card. This survey captures parents’ views on the American school bus system. The survey data were collected by Zūm via Pollfish, an online survey platform, from June 26-27, 2024. A total of 1,500 American parents with school-aged children participated in the survey.

The findings reveal that a significant majority of respondents believe the school bus system needs improvement (84%), would utilize a mobile app to track their child’s location on the bus (81%), and deem it important to convert diesel school buses to electric ones (64%).

Ritu Narayan, CEO and Founder of Zūm, emphasized that the survey highlights parents’ demand for increased safety, transparency, and more sustainable transportation for their children. Narayan expressed pride in Zūm’s partnerships with school districts across the U.S., indicating that positive changes are already underway.

Key Survey Findings

Environmental Concerns:

• 80% of parents expressed worries about the harmful emissions from diesel school buses.
• 64% believe converting diesel buses to electric is important, up from 52% in 2023.

Tech-Enabled Solutions:

• 81% of parents showed interest in using a mobile app to stay informed of their child’s bus location.
• 83% would use an app to track the bus arrival time, similar to tracking an Uber driver’s arrival.

Reliability and Transparency:

• Over half of the respondents (53%) mentioned that their child has missed the bus due to not knowing the arrival time.
• Among those not currently using the school bus, 40% said they would reconsider if they could track their child’s bus arrival and departure.

Safety Concerns:

• Safety remains the top concern for parents, consistent with findings from 2022 and 2023.
• The second biggest concern is the lack of tracking or visibility regarding their child’s bus activity.

Driver Compensation and Appreciation:

• 70% of parents think that teachers and school bus drivers should receive better compensation.
• 40% believe that being a school bus driver is one of the most underappreciated jobs in the country.

Impact on Families:

• Nearly half of the parents reported that school transportation issues have negatively affected their work performance, an increase from 2023.
• 43% indicated that their children have been negatively impacted by long bus commutes or failures in the school bus system.

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