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Spokane Public Schools will part ways with Durham buses, approves contract with Zum

Durham provided a lower annual bid estimate, but Zum scored higher overall with references and during panel interviews.

SPOKANE, Wash. — Brand new buses and better technology. Those are just some of the reasons Spokane school board members approved a five-year contract with Zum, and chose part ways with Durham School Services as their contract comes to an end.

Every five years, SPS is required to get bids for transportation services. Durham and Zum were the only companies to make it to the final round.

Durham provided a lower annual bid estimate of $13.8M compared to Zum's $14.3M but Zum scored higher overall with references and during panel interviews.

Board members were impressed with the technology the company brings with it. A single app will let parents know when the bus is coming, when their child arrives at school and when they're heading home.

"A parent always wants to know where their kid is and we recognize that and so I know that was something that was a priority for us going into this process and something that we're really excited about," SPS Superintendent Adam Swinyard said. "That there will be technology in place to really create that type of linkage for families to know where their students are at any given time when they are riding our transportation."

The district's transportation panel also recommended Zum because of the company's sustainability commitment. Zum says its fleet is 100% carbon neutral and they plan to add more electric vehicles in the future.

Zum already has contracts with districts in Seattle, Los Angeles and Chicago. Their busses will take Spokane students to school beginning in August. The estimated cost of the five year contract, which runs from Aug. 2023 to July 2028 is $71,770,590.

The nation is still facing a driver shortage, and many parents have complained about Durham dropping their kids off at school hours after the first bell.

SPS says they still have less drivers than before the pandemic, but are making progress.

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