Ritu Narayan, CEO and Founder of Zum Named Among 2024’s Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business
Ritu Narayan, CEO of Zūm, is recognised as one of 2024’s Most
Influential Women in Bay Area Business for revolutionising sustainable school transportation with innovative technology and electrified bus fleets.
In the bustling world of Bay Area business, where innovation meets impact, Ritu Narayan, CEO and Founder of Zūm, has emerged as a formidable force. Recently named one of 2024’s Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business by the San Francisco Business Times, Narayan is redefining what it means to lead in the modern age of school transportation.
The San Francisco Business Times’ annual awards celebrate “the most powerful, inspiring, and influential women” in the region, a list that has previously included Fortune 500 CEOs, Nobel laureates, and other luminaries. This year, Narayan joins their ranks, recognized for her visionary leadership and transformative impact on student transportation.
Narayan’s journey began with a simple yet profound mission: to solve the decades-long problem of student transportation. “I founded Zum to address the challenges faced by schools and families in the Bay Area,” she explains. “Today, we are leading the industry forward by delivering safe, reliable, sustainable, and equitable rides in school districts nationwide.”
Zūm’s innovative approach unifies parents, students, school administrators, and drivers on a single, personalized technology platform. Through the Zum app, parents can access real-time tracking and notifications about their child’s school bus location and status, while administrators can optimize routes and access performance reports. This level of visibility and accountability is unprecedented in the industry.
In a groundbreaking move, Zūm launched the nation’s first fully electrified school bus fleet in Oakland, California, equipped with vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology. This allows the buses to return energy to the grid, marking a significant step towards sustainable transportation. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean School Bus Program has recognized this effort, awarding $58 million to Zūm to further accelerate the electrification of its school district partners nationwide.
Zūm’s reach extends across 14 states, with plans for rapid expansion. The company’s commitment to modernising school transportation has not gone unnoticed, earning accolades from Fast Company, CNBC, and the World Economic Forum, among others.
