Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Operations Transportation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
District outlines launch timeline for new transportation vendor Zoom Services
Summary
Saint Louis Public Schools described the timeline and readiness plan for a new transportation vendor, Zoom Services, hired to provide student bus service beginning in the 2025–26 school year and said families who opted in will be notified of assignments before summer break.
Saint Louis Public Schools staff told the board on March 11 that Zoom Services will be the district’s new student transportation provider for the 2025–26 school year and outlined a March–August launch timeline.
Director of Operations Jeronetta Brookins said Zoom’s CEO and project team participated in planning meetings in February and March. The district reported the vendor is recruiting drivers and operational staff, scheduling driver classes from March through July 2025, and expected initial fleet deliveries and dry‑run route testing in May–July ahead of opening day.
Brookins said the contract was with legal for final review and that transportation and vendor teams would hold weekly implementation meetings to coordinate recruitment, onboarding, fleet procurement, routing and communications with families and schools. She said parents who opted into bus service (roughly 10,200 students) will be prioritized for route assignments and that the district aims to provide route assignments before families leave for summer break.
Why it matters: Transportation is a high‑visibility operational service affecting thousands of students and families. The district emphasized recruitment of drivers and monitors, depot/facility planning, and customer service readiness as key near‑term tasks.
Next steps: District and vendor teams will continue weekly coordination meetings, finalize the contract, complete driver training and run routing dry runs in July. Brookins said the timeline will be shared in ongoing monthly updates to the board.
Ending: Board members pressed for confirmation that route assignments will be available by the end of the school year; district staff reiterated that the goal is to have assignments to families prior to summer break.
