Company's Clean Energy Expert Honored for Implementing
Electric School Bus Conversion with Vehicle-to-Grid
Technology
REDWOOD
CITY, Calif., July 1, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- Dr. Pallav Prakash,
EV Program Manager for Zūm, has been named the 2024 Innovator of
the Year by Student Transportation News (STN).
This prestigious annual award, which "recognizes an individual
who has made significant, tangible contributions to the industry"
honors Prakash for his exceptional leadership and pioneering work
to electrify Zum's school bus fleets and deploy revolutionary
vehicle-to-grid technology that is leading student transportation
into the green era.
"The key to innovative success is having the right team, and I
share this award with my outstanding colleagues and partners who
have helped improve the lives of children and communities through
student transportation," said Prakash. "I am tremendously grateful
to STN for this honor, and I am proud to dedicate my career to
driving the clean energy sector forward."
Prakash, a renowned expert in sustainable technology and clean
energy infrastructure, led the team to launch the first major U.S.
school district to have an all-electric school bus fleet with
groundbreaking vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology at Oakland Unified
School District in California.
"Dr. Prakash's unmatched expertise and commitment to advancing
sustainable practices makes him an integral part of Zum's team –
and an influential voice for our industry," said Zum Founder and
CEO Ritu Narayan. "His work promotes
equitable clean energy access, improves environmental health, and
creates safer student transportation. We are so proud that he has
been named STN Innovator of the Year. It is a high honor for our
leadership team in a landmark year for the company."
With a distinguished academic background and 20+ years of
leadership experience, Prakash's role at Zum includes coordinating
with educational institutions, local utilities, community
stakeholders and regulators. His team's project in Oakland set a new industry benchmark by
successfully navigating the local utility permit process and
completing the construction phase in record time.
In May, Zum announced that Oakland Unified School District will
be the first major school district in the U.S. to transition to a
100% electrified school bus system. Additionally, the buses will be
enabled with bidirectional charging that will send energy back to
the grid. Among the many supporters of Zum's mission is the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, which has awarded Zum $58 million in 2024 to deploy electric school
buses in school districts nationwide.
"It is with great honor that we announce Dr. Prakash as the
recipient of the 2024 STN Innovator of the Year award," said
Tony Corpin, President and Publisher
of STN Media Group. "Dr. Prakash's visionary work in deploying
electric school buses equipped with Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G)
technology across the USA stands
as a testament to his outstanding commitment to advancing
sustainable transportation solutions. His efforts not only enhance
the operational efficiency of school transportation but also
significantly contribute to environmental sustainability."
Prakash will receive his award at STN's Green Bus Summit on
July 14 in Reno, Nevada.
Zum manages and operates student transportation for school
districts in 14 states, including California, Washington, Massachusetts, Maryland, Texas, Illinois, Tennessee, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Connecticut, and Missouri. To learn more about how Zum works
with thousands of schools nationwide to deliver safe, reliable,
equitable, and sustainable student transportation, please visit
Zum's website.
About Zum
Zum has modernized student transportation,
the nation's largest mass transit system, and developed sustainable
ways to charge the grid. Zum's robust operations and integrated
end-to-end cloud-based platform provides a modern student
transportation service for school districts purpose-built around
the needs of kids and the expectations of modern families. Zum
provides one seamless, real-time interface for parents, drivers,
schools, districts, administrators, and operators to transport
children safely and with increased visibility and personalized
care. Always investing in the wellbeing of communities, Zum is also
the only carbon neutral student transportation provider in the
nation with plans to go Net Zero with its transition to EV electric
buses. Zum is available nationwide, serving more than 4,000 schools
across the U.S. Learn more at www.ridezum.com.
CONTACT:
press@ridezum.com
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SOURCE Zūm