Supercool

Every day, 27 million kids ride 500,000 school buses—the largest transit system in America. And yet, this 80-year-old relic is stuck in the past: buses are late, routes are inefficient, and parents have no clue where the bus is or when it’s coming. Ritu Narayan, founder and CEO of Zum, decided to fix it. All of it.

With real-time tracking, smarter routes, and electric buses, Zum has modernized student transportation for 4,000 schools, including the school districts of Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, and Boston. In Oakland, Zum introduced the nation’s first fully electric school bus fleet, slashing emissions and cutting the number of buses needed nearly in half.

Zum isn’t just about buses—it’s a tech, Human Resources, logistics, and infrastructure company rolled into one. The result? Parents can breathe, kids get to class on time, and school districts finally have a system that works.

Ritu joins Supercool this week to discuss how Zum is making school buses smart, sustainable, and better for everyone.

Show Notes

Guest: Ritu Narayan, founder & CEO

Company: Zum

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What is Supercool?

Trillions are on the move. Climate tech startups are scaling. Fortune 500s are reinventing. The driver: decarbonization.

Every major sector of the economy is now realigning around low-carbon innovation.

Hosted by climate-tech founder and author Josh Dorfman, Supercool talks to the operators, investors, and companies at the forefront—how they design, finance, and build products that are winning customers, reshaping markets, and leading a generational shift to the low-carbon future.

Each episode reveals the strategies, business models, and playbooks driving the transition—so you can discover emerging opportunities and act with confidence.