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SFUSD awards student-transportation contract to Zoom Services, plans phased switch to electric buses
Summary
After a best-value procurement, the board voted to award a multi-year student-transportation contract to Zoom Services, which promised a new fleet, hiring of incumbent drivers under a union contract, and a staged transition to 100% electric vehicles by 2025.
The San Francisco Unified School District has awarded its student-transportation contract to Zoom Services after a best-value RFP process. Procurement officials described a three-phase evaluation (responsiveness check, panel scoring of four value categories, and fee-sheet opening) that led to Zoom as the top-scoring bidder.
Zoom’s proposal emphasized student safety, on-board cameras, family-facing ride tracking and notifications, a technology platform to manage routes in real time, and a pledge to build a brand-new fleet with a 100% transition to electric vehicles by 2025. Zoom CEO Ritu Narayan told the board the company will "bring the best of the infrastructure, team, experience, and technology to the district" and committed that "100% of work under this contract will be covered by the CBA." Procurement Director Albi Udom told commissioners the award was determined by a value-per-dollar formula after panel scoring and separate fee opening.
Board members pressed staff and the vendor on yard/lease plans, protections for incumbent drivers and their benefits, and the timetable for EV deployment. Zoom said it will offer a bus yard under LOI, has contingency yard options, and will first offer employment to outgoing-contractor drivers; staff said contract language preserves invoicing only for services provided and includes remedies for noncompliance.
On projected costs, procurement showed Zoom’s proposal would still be higher than historical spend but lower-than-another bidder’s estimate on comparable daily rates for specific vehicle types. District leaders said routing inefficiencies under current student-assignment patterns and school start-time variability contribute materially to transportation costs and that other operational changes (start-time harmonization, assignment reforms) are required to realize larger savings.
The board approved the contract (vote 6–1). Commissioner Bogus voted no and said she preferred the district to provide in-house transportation long term; other commissioners said the award protects worker continuity and accelerates a shift to zero-emission buses.
The contract includes a five-year term with a not-to-exceed contract ceiling; actual invoices are clawed to services provided and staff said they will monitor performance and bring monthly/quarterly reporting on key operational and cost metrics.
