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.
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 schools selected currently receive bus service from Zum Services, Inc., which has the required hardware and software readily available.
Full details on the student bus card program are available online.
HCPSS is conducting a pilot program for a student bus identification card at several HCPSS schools that are serviced by Zum Services, Inc., which has the required hardware and software readily available.
Identified bus-rider students will be provided with an RFID (radio-frequency identification) Card, on which a student’s assigned bus is stored on a contactless chip in the card that will be scanned when a student gets on and off their bus.
To be eligible for bus service, your child’s home address must be outside of a school’s walk zones. Verify address eligibility by:
Parents/guardians whose children are eligible for bus transportation are asked to register to receive bus service each year. Families whose students have an Individualized Education Program (IEP) or a Section 504 plan that includes transportation do not need to register.
For the 2024-2025 school year, bus registration for all students is now closed.
Please note, per Howard County Board of Education Policy 5200 Student Transportation Implementation Procedures:
