Ian McKerlich, president and CEO of Zonar Systems, launches the new Bus Technology Summit scheduled for Sept. 21-24 and offered free of charge to attendees.
He will provide the opening CEO Tech Talk the morning of Sept. 21 and will discuss the opportunities that are arising from the COVID-19 pandemic to reimagine organizational processes and take full advantage of safety and efficiency technologies currently on the market and that have yet to emerge.
During his address, McKerlich, who is also the global head of commercial fleet service at parent company Continental, will break down the barriers to technology adoption and discuss how today’s and tomorrow’s technologies can impact the safe transportation of students to and from school. He will also share insights on how these technologies can reinvent school district and bus contractor views on total cost of ownership.
Zonar is the headline sponsor of the summit.
McKerlich’s bottom-line message is that technology no longer needs to be something that is merely nice to have on school buses.
“Our mission at Zonar is to enhance the safety, performance and ultimately the success of our fleet customers,” said McKerlich. “We have proudly served the student transportation industry and partnered with School Transportation News for almost 20 years. We’re excited to participate in the first-ever STN Virtual Bus Technology Summit and share our views about the future intersections of advanced technology and school transportation in the coming years.”
“I’m really excited to welcome a leader of Ian’s caliber to the brain-trust of experts we are presenting at this year’s Bus Technology Summit,” said Tony Corpin, president and publisher of School Transportation News. “Our goal is to help school transportation professionals with actionable information they need to help address challenges during COVID-19 and beyond.”
The Bus Technology Summit includes additional Tech Talks later in the week from technology strategist Jim Harris, who spoke at the 2019 STN EXPO Reno, and legal and regulatory expert Matthew W. Daus, the chair of the transportation practice group at law firm Marx Lane & Mittendorf in New York City.
Chat and panel discussion topics will center on how technology can help student transporters survive and thrive amid the ongoing health crisis, plus it will discuss other technologies such as electric vehicles, GPS, routing, video camera systems, Wi-Fi, and more.
The event will also include open virtual networking between attendees and matched meetings with the 17 sponsoring companies.
A virtual trade show will also be held all four days.
