Zum - Student Transportation

Zum is a great service our family has used numerous times. It is a bit pricey but that cost includes the peace of mind of a safe ride for my child. I recently had a last minute need for rides but had missed the 7pm booking cut off time. The folks at Zum were super friendly, accommodating, and communicated with me throughout the process to secure a ride for us. Everything happened seamlessly and I was thoroughly impressed with the service I received. I hope that the cutoff time will be extended sometime in the future. Thank you, Zum!

As a driver, I hate this app. The customer service is horrible. I can never get an exact answer when I have an issue with a ride, my payment, etc. Expect to rarely get paid on time and wait literally MONTHS to get the bonuses that you are promised upon signing up. Expect parents to cancel on you when you are already at the pickup location and barely get compensated for it. Parents often leave unclear pickup instructions, and you are expected to wait up to 30 mins for a kid even if you have somewhere to be—like your real job for example. Why don’t they put a cap on the wait time so as to not inconvenience drivers and waste their time? Who knows! That’s just one of the many wonderful little surprises about this company! You have no way of contacting the child if you can’t find them, and parents rarely answer the phone if an issue comes up at pickup/dropoff. The pay for a ride is often too low because it doesn’t reflect real time traffic, so you could drive for 45 mins+ and only get paid for what showed up on your app as a “30 minute ride.” Zum is terrible and has a lot of work to do.

-Ride was cancelled 19 minutes before the pick up time with a brief text message that said that they might or might not pick up my 5 years old child. If parents in this circumstances go and pick up the child themselves and Zum driver still shows up, they still charge the parent and don’t provide a refund or any discount. Half an hour on the call with customer service and supervisor trying to figure out a solution was a waste of my time unfortunately. -Drivers are frequently late 15-20 minutes. According to their policy drivers are allowed to be 15min late, just be aware and plan your time accordingly. -App has lots of limitations and doesn’t allow customer to modify monthly ride even well in advance, even if it benefits the company. -Otherwise, it’s an excellent idea and much needed service! Hopefully they can improve their reliability, revisit their cancellation policy and communication process when driver cancels last minute, and improve user interface.

I entered my first ride 10 days ago and got a confirmation from their customer service that a driver would be assigned the day before. When I didn’t see a driver assigned the day before, I reached out to customer service who confirmed that this was normal and that the name of the driver may be released only the day of the ride. An hour before the ride, I still hadn’t received any notification so I decided to reach out again. I learned BECAUSE I CALLED that no one would be available to pick up my son. They said it’s pretty common because they had a surge of requests lately and drivers who keep canceling. I understand things can happen but not notifying parents that the ride is cancelled is dangerous and unprofessional. My son could have waited forever to be picked up...

We have 3 kids and love semi-rural. Everything about booking and working with Zum has been a breeze— it’s such a relief to know that our son can get where he needs to go while we are home with our youngest or driving our middle child to her activities. Modern parenting can be pretty crazy but services like this make it possible—and a bit more sane!

Before the review, I just want to say that this is a great option for other single parents out there w multiple jobs and no one to help w pick up/drop off. I’ve only had one bad experience where they showed up 15 minutes late w/o notice but otherwise if there’s an issue, speak w a supervisor and they handle it within 24hours. My girls seem happy and always arrive safe, luckily. All (but 1) have arrived on time and communicated if running behind but never too late and all friendly.

I am on hold for the past 37 minutes as I am writing this, waiting for someone at Zum customer support to answer to tell me where my special needs son is! His bus hasn’t shown up after school and no one will pick up at Zum to tell me where he is! Tried their live chat at the same time, but despite message saying that an agent will soon be responding, it just disconnected after nearly 30 minutes. If you are taking responsibility for the lives of people’s children you MUST get more responsive customer support!! My next call will be to the police if my son doesn’t arrive in another 10 minutes.

I like the app for tracking my kids school bus but this latest update has made it worse. It asks for a driver review every time without being able to bypass. Doing it 2x a day for pickup and drop off for the entire school year is too much. I love the ability now to see how early or late the bus will be without being in the dark or waiting in the rain. Easily 5 stars once it gets fixed.

It is great to have real time information on bus routes. But communication is challenging. We have been experiencing some frustration and confusion between the assigned route and the route the driver is taking - which has kids on bus for an additional hour or more in the PM. My kid comes home exhausted and nauseous. This has happened before when there is a new driver, but not sure why this is happening this time. Driver does not communicate - just that it is “her preferred route” Zum rep confirmed it is unacceptable, School district also said it is not okay. But it is still happening. Hopefully this can be remedied soon, but it is troubling.

Absolutely dreadful service! This school bus company has consistently failed to meet the most basic expectations. My child has been brought to school late on numerous occasions, causing them unnecessary stress and missed learning opportunities. It's reached a point where there have been days when the bus simply didn't show up at all, leaving us scrambling for alternate transportation. Their unreliability is beyond frustrating, and it's clear they lack the professionalism and commitment required for such an important responsibility. Avoid this company at all costs if you value your child's education and punctuality!

I love knowing when the bus is coming and when my child is picked up from school to come home. We avoid waiting and wondering. I wish rating the driver after each ride was optional. I’d love to be able to skip that and get back into the app.

I am very happy with the driver and the app efficiency. I am not happy with the constant change in morning pick up time. Our family schedule works better with a set pick up time in the morning. The previous bus service would rarely make changes in schedule unless there is a good reason. We have not been informed of the cause yet.

I had used ZUM successfully a few times. However last week my ZUM ride was Thirty minutes late picking up my son. What was worse was no one called him to tell him they were late and when I tried to call the driver they didn’t answer their phone. When I called help hotline they were more interested in telling me that being late was in the contract and to not expect a refund then helping me get my children taken care of. I asked to speak with a manager which was not granted and thus am left little recourse but to warn other families of the potential problems with this service.

Terrible experience, horrible customer service. They dropped my son off at a convenience store about 2 miles from our house and just left him there, without letting me know, and with his only option being to walk home! I was pretty upset about that - with good reason, I believe. But when I spoke to them on the phone to complain about it, they called me a "troublemaker" and said that my son can no longer use the Zum service (not that I would've wanted him to anyway). Do not trust these people to "care" for your children!!

The service does not work unless you live in Palo Alto near a Vc firm. They don’t have drivers. They let you try to sign up and schedule…. A long process. Then drop you in a calendar with zero options. No way to schedule. And email them. And not any real help or suggestions when they can schedule rides. So not at all set up to grow in any reliable way. Might as well just shut down. Your business is not viable with no real service. And not even trying to help potential customers.

Because of ZUM I was able to go back to work. Exceptionally pleased with ZUM’s service, drivers and team! We use ZUM frequently during the week. ZUM makes a stop for my daughter to go to the farmers market on the way home from school. We live in Portola Valley. ZUM also takes my daughter to the city for her rehearsals. Love ZUM!

Do not use this services. I booked a pick up for my daughter to get to school on a normal Wednesday morning. She was suppose to be at school by 8am I booked pick up at 7:15am. Not only were they 45 minutes late to pick her up in the morning. I had to reach out to them to find out why my daughter was still at home. She was late to school missed her first test of the day and I had to see the Dean of attendance to prove the negligence of this service and thankfully they will allow her one more chance to make up this test.

I have two students that use Zum and they have been 10-30 minutes late tens of times. They supposedly show up and wait 2 minutes and mark that the child doesn’t come out and leave without me ever knowing they were here. I have to call the school district to fix rides, they won’t fix them through their customer service. The app doesn’t track rides half the time and I don’t know ETAs.. I’m not big on leaving reviews, but I’m so sick of this stupid agency.

I've used them for after-school activities this month and they have really saved me from rushing out of work, being stuck in traffic only to get to my son late and have him reach his class late.

My child called today that due to a schedule change at school, he can’t be picked up at the scheduled time. Unfortunately, we got completely stuck and no one would be able to pick him up today, because we won’t be able to change the schedule with a short notice, and we won’t be able to schedule another Zum driver. This is not the service you are looking for with a very expensive price.

When I first started using this app I was rightfully very anxious. They’re dealing with my most precious thing in the world. When I book a ride it is because I have. I other alternative to get my child from a school. I was out of town on business and got a message that no driver could be found literally the day of the pickup. What was I supposed to do with that??? 3000 miles away and no one to get my child? Clearly the service is not for a parent like me. I need a dependable service.

I’m a teenager, with no parents, and i get rides through this system. i’ve been trying to make an account since the beginning of this school year, i’ve had to cancel rides when the driver texts me and feel horrible about it because i can’t cancel them through the app because it won’t let me make an account. i’ve followed the steps, and i continue to not get an email from you guys. fix. it.

Horrible experience. I got a text the night before the ride conforming and giving me the name of the driver. 15 minutes before the confirmed ride I logged into the app and discovered that in the app it says “looking for a driver”. Nobody attempted to notify me in advance that the initial driver cancelled. I connected to support and they told me they will try to find a driver but it’s a 50/50 chance they will be successful. Luckily I was able to get my kid picked up by a friend. This business is a joke.

You can see the bus on the route to pick up or drop off your children. You can actually see where exactly the bus is located at any point of time!!!

I used this service prior to Covid. I love this option when families are on the go. They helped pick up my son and take him to hockey practice or home. This is not like Uber where you could decide on the whim to get a ride, you will need to plan the rides ahead of time.

I was happy to use this service in the past, when I made orders as a parent, but after they began to do a school transportation, they a really very bad! Your school bus may not arrive and you are not informed, you call or text them and don’t receive a fast and clear information what’s going on. If I could mark them -5 stars I would do that.

Just found this app by accident. What a great idea. As a working mom with a working hubby we often can’t enroll the kids in after school activities due to work conflicts. I just tried to use it for the first time, however I can’t even get the app to work. It crashes as soon as I try to schedule a pick up. Bummer

I’ve been using Zum for the last three months! I’m in love and have recommended with many of my busy friends too.

I’m a single mom who needs a p/u service from school for my son here in the South Bay. Unfortunately it seems ZUM no longer services our area. PROS: -My son was picked up and dropped off without incident -On time pick ups -Courteous drivers who cared -Loved being able to schedule a month in advance -Love paying through the app -Appreciate ability to chat with customer service -Was personally notifies that services will no longer be available in my area CONS -If no driver available, then I’m notified less than 24hrs in advance -Should really communicate what areas are supported. It’s become obvious that this company does not support the South Bay. Overall I guess it cant be helped. But imagine the opportunity to expand.

Zum seems like a good idea, but it’s ultimately a pretty risky proposition. We’ve had success at times and we’ve also had them cancel 5 min prior to pick up, stranding our child without a ride home. We’ve gotten apologies, but no future guarantees. Parents need trust, not a customer service follow up a couple days after a review of the situation. Ask yourself - would you hire a baby sitter again who might do this?

I know this is a new thing but if your child is assigned a bus and a pick up time, then the bus should be there on time. You can’t see exactly where the bus is or if it’s close to your house so you can be at the bus stop waiting. My son had a pick up time this morning of 6:42, we waited for the bus from 6:35 to 7:10. No bus showed so we went back home.

Zum isn’t ready for operation. The app was suggested through our school. I already tried to use once, and they canceled that ride. Fool me once... We then booked 4 rides weeks in advance knowing I’d be unavailable. At around 10pm the night before the long scheduled ride we get a text saying they can’t fulfill and need to cancel. Fool me twice, shame on me. Very frustrating. This company isn’t ready to be running. They needs to scale their operations to support the number of rides they have scheduled, they need to look and staff based on upcoming scheduled rides or communicate long before the scheduled ride that they cannot commit to pickup so parent can make other plans.

I have been using Zum to help with my sons basketball practice for 6 times. The Zumers always come early to pick up my son and have been very nice to my son. I really appreciate their help.

I needed some help with after-school transportation. I was thrilled to see this option. HUGE MISTAKE. The company waited until almost 9 pm the night before the first requested ride to tell me they don’t serve my area. 1. I had requested the ride almost a month ahead of time. 2. Why wouldn’t you catch that IMMEDIATELY. 3. 9 pm the night before?!?! Thanks for leaving me without time to make other plans! Never. Ever. Again.

I think the drivers don’t all sign in. When you call they then have to call driver who may not answer. Texts to wrong number hard to get it changed

I have two kids. One is always picked up at time when another bus is always late. I’m waiting on this bus right now and it is 35 minutes late! Very unreliable, this never happened to us with a school district bus. I tried to escalate a few times but they say that can’t do anything. Very disappointing

And I could do it at all my friends and family

My son was late due to Yonas and Yonas was very rude as he did not stop next to our house, where he is supposed to pick up my son, and instead stopped in a place where people speed and can easily hit my son. He refuses to stop at the house and goes a block further. I do not feel comfortable with him driving my son.

This company seems to only advertise the tech feature of GPS tracking. But who cares when the bus driver either comes 35 mins, 55 mins late only to take a child to the WRONG SCHOOL and another to the WRONG COUNTY, and drop off kids at the wrong bus stop? Oh and then 20 routes get cancelled at 11pm on the first day of school?! Hope y’all get a lawsuit.

I scheduled a ride for my kids 3 days before the date because I had nobody to pick them up from school. They failed to find a driver and, worse, they failed to let me know in advance that they will not be able to pick up the kids! Worst customer service! Do not recommend them as a reliable service:/

This is a Zum app review NOT a Zum review. I am a loyal Zum user. There is a bug in the app related to packaged rides that has bitten me two months running. The last ride in a package can NOT be canceled. Steps to reproduce: 1. Schedule one or more packages for the following month. 2. Use rides during the month. 3. When exactly one ride remains on a package, attempt to cancel that last ride through the app. —>The app throws an error and the ride does not cancel. —>Subsequent attempts to cancel the ride do not succeed (fail silently) —> Attempts to cancel the entire package do not succeed. This bug has been reported to support but persists.

So Seattle Public Schools decided to use Zum for their transportation supplier and they have been terrible. The app doesn’t show the location of the bus half the time and often her afternoon rides are missing or unscheduled and late. If I didn’t have to use Zum I wouldn’t.

Its been two days dealing with this company and they are the worse. I notified them of the error on the app and they referred me to the BPS whom they are serving to help Me with their problem. So you see the problem. Plus they are transporting my Austin child!!!! Trust me the level of stress I have isn’t worth it.

We are loving this app. It’s so helpful for planning, and our driver is fantastic!

I booked my child’s first ride and without any contact from the company, the ride was concealed. I was never contacted. I sent a message to find out what happened and only then was I told the company did not service my area. If you are looking for something dependable, find another company.

Phone lines are always busy when calling in. No one picks up. The chat has now been outsourced to a bunch of idiots who have no idea what’s going on. Takes so much time to explain the situation every single time. Very frustrated with the new chat representatives.

Zum is a start-up that is not ready or able to take on the responsibility of transporting and caring for young children. Parents should read reviews on yelp before using this service. Also closely read the terms of service which purport to limit and disclaim all liability. Parents beware!

Have an important meeting? Or you come down with a cold? You can’t book a ride unless you give 24 hours notice. Or you have to commit to 3 of the same ride over 1 month. We tried HopSkipDrive which did not require 24 notice.

First of all the app has problem, it takes you out every 2minuets. What is the purpose of this service when they don’t schedule any ride between 2pm-4pm, exactly the time that the school are closing and you need help for picking up your kids!!!

This has been working well for many at my child's school!