Not all buses at the four schools participating in the bus card pilot program are included. Only buses serviced by Zum Services, Inc., are part of the program as Zum has the required hardware and software readily available.
The pilot program is being conducted through the end of the 2023-2024 school year. Following that, HCPSS staff will evaluate the ridership data, as well as feedback from school administrators, students and families, bus drivers and Zum staff. Expanding the student bus cards program will be dependent on the pilot evaluation, funding, and other criteria.
Parents/guardians will have access to their student’s ridership information via the Zum app, which many families already use for bus pickup/drop off information. The Zum app is available for free download on the Apple Store and Google Play.
No student will be denied bus service if they lose or forget their card.
If a student forgets their bus card, the driver can manually enter them as being picked up or dropped off. Parents/guardians may opt to attach their child's bus card to their backpack to avoid forgetting it at home.
No, the bus cards cannot be tracked outside of getting on or off a bus.
Tapping a bus card on the card reader records the student boarding or disembarking the vehicle. Outside of that, cards cannot be used to track or follow a student's whereabouts.
Zum Bus Cards hold unique codes assigned to a student. The cards have the student’s first name and last initial printed on them to help with identification in case they are misplaced.
Students who are part of the bus card pilot program will receive their cards at school in late April 2024.
Zum Bus Cards are uniquely assigned to students and cannot be shared. Students will be provided with information on using the cards prior to the first day of use.
The pilot program is being conducted at Bellows Spring and Forest Ridge elementary schools, Ellicott Mills Middle School and Atholton High School. Those schools were selected as representing all school areas and start times, and receiving bus service from Zum Services, Inc., which has the required hardware and software readily available.
Full details on the pilot program are available online.
HCPSS is conducting a pilot program for a student bus identification card. The pilot program is being conducted through the end of the 2023-2024 school year at several HCPSS schools that are serviced by Zum Services, Inc., which has the required hardware and software readily available.
