New school year, new wheels: SLPS rolls out high-tech buses for students, families

ST. LOUIS – Think school buses haven't changed much since you were a kid? Think again. This year, Saint Louis Public Schools is rolling out a new kind of ride, with bold, back-to-school upgrades designed to modernize student transportation, reducing stress and improving safety.

The SLPS has partnered with transportation company Zum to help put parents in the driver's seat.

For 13-year-old Jordan Robinson, this school year will be different—and cooler—on her school bus.

“I heard there will be air conditioning,” she said. “I'm very happy for that. I don't want to be hot.”
 
The eighth grader says this school year isn't just a fresh start, it’s a big upgrade.

“I'm excited there are buses again this year. I did not have a bus last year. I had a van. And it was very compact, small, and it was not very spacious,” she said.

Robinson is one of thousands of students riding one of the district’s brand-new school buses.

“It works similar to Uber or Door Dash. It has a scheduled arrived time, and it lets you know when the buses are approaching, so that the students and parents don’t have to wait outside when it’s cold or really, really hot or in the rain,” Richard Lindell, Zum regional manager, said.

“I feel safer with the app because now my parents don’t have to worry where I am and have to call me and make sure that I'm getting home,” Robinson said. “They can trust that the app is making sure I'm getting home on time and knowing where I am.”

It's all part of the district's effort to solve transportation problems from the past, from overcrowding and late pickups. Officials say the new system is built for reliability and transparency.

“Once they get on the bus they will tap their ID and that will let the parents know and the school know that the child got on that bus,” bus driver Tiigras Graham said.

Nearly 250 air conditioned buses will roll across 220 routes this year, a major shift which officials hope will ease stress for both parents and students.

“What really sets us apart far as the technology that we have is the parent app. Same thing the parent sees, the same thing the dispatchers see, and the district staff see, and even the campuses and the principals and assistant principals,” Lindell said. “They can see the bus information on their phone or their tablets that they have out at the bus yards. So, they can have all the information at their fingertips.”

SLPS parents are encouraged to download the Zum app before the Aug. 18 start of the school year.