SPOKANE, Wash. — The new school year for Spokane Public Schools is less than a month away. On Monday, the school district will introduce its new forms of transportation to students and families.
The new yellow buses used by the district will be from Zum, a new company for the district. In March, board members decided to part ways with Durham Bus Services at the end of the last school year.
Shortly after that decision was made, the board approved a five-year contract with Zum for bus services. Durham provided a lower annual bid estimate to SPS, but Zum scored higher overall with references during panel interviews.
Board members were impressed with the technology the company brings with it. A single app will let parents know when the bus is coming, when their child arrives at school and when they're heading home.
"A parent always wants to know where their kid is and we recognize that and so I know that was something that was a priority for us going into this process and something that we're really excited about," SPS Superintendent Adam Swinyard said. "That there will be technology in place to really create that type of linkage for families to know where their students are at any given time when they are riding our transportation."
SPS awarded Zum the five-year, $71 million transportation contract. The contract includes transportation for more than 800 special education students as well as 6,000 regular education students.
The district's transportation panel also recommended Zum because of the company's sustainability commitment. Zum says its fleet is 100% carbon neutral and they plan to add more electric vehicles in the future.
The Spokane Public School Board members are expected to officially approve the new transportation company at their meeting on Wednesday.
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