SEATTLE — Zonar, the leader in smart fleet technology, in partnership with the National School Transportation Association (NSTA), is inviting applications for the 10th annual Don Carnahan Memorial Grant. The program provides NSTA members with individual grants of up to $50,000 in smart fleet hardware technology and support. Since 2011, Zonar has donated more than $500,000 in technology grants to over a dozen contractors across the U.S. and Canada.
The technology hardware from the grant helps school bus drivers keep their buses safe and secure while overseeing the custodial chain of command of students to and from school. The technology provided also helps schools ensure their fleets are running as efficiently as possible, while also helping contractors comply with requirements of the numerous districts and localities they serve.
“In a perfect world, every school bus fleet would be equipped with technology to accurately track routes, provide real-time vehicle performance reporting, and monitor the movement and location of each student passenger,” said H. Kevin Mest, senior vice president of business development for Zonar, and vice-chair, NSTA Safety & Security Committee. “While this isn’t currently possible for every fleet across thousands of districts, this grant allows contractors to up-level their safety, compliance, and efficiency using the many features of Zonar’s leading portfolio of solutions.”
Grant recipients can apply for Zonar fleet management technology, including Electronic Verified Inspection Reporting (EVIR); high-definition GPS fleet tracking with live delivery of vehicle performance, subsystem, and diagnostic information in one device (V4); student tracking (Z Pass); Ground Traffic Control web-based software; and real-time driver coaching (Zonar Coach).
“Once a child boards a school bus, their safety is in the hands of a single bus driver—who is also responsible for a number of other students, route, and operational variables,” said Blake Krapf, president of NSTA. “We’re happy to continue partnering with Zonar on this grant, knowing that Zonar has always made the safety of passengers on the road their top priority. Through our partnership, our members will have access to technology that makes it easier for them to protect the students that ride our buses every day.”
To be considered for this grant award, applicants must be a current NSTA member at the time of submission. Applications will be considered for full and partial grants for up to $50,000 in hardware costs on a rolling basis throughout 2019.
About Zonar
Founded in 2001, Zonar has pioneered smart fleet management solutions throughout vocational, pupil, mass transit and commercial trucking industries. Zonar helps fleets of all sizes maximize the use of their assets with solutions dedicated to improving compliance, efficiency, maintenance, ridership visibility, safety and tracking. Cloud-based services with open API’s drive Zonar’s smart fleet solutions by making it easy for fleet owners and managers to stay connected to their fleets and drivers and operators to dispatch. Headquartered in Seattle and majority-owned by technology company Continental, Zonar also has a Technology Development Center in downtown Seattle, a regional office in Cincinnati, and a distribution center outside of Atlanta. http://www.zonarsystems.com
About NSTA
The National School Transportation Association (NSTA) is the leading resource for school bus transportation solutions. Our member organizations will be recognized as proving the safest, most secure, environmentally responsible and cost-effective school bus transportation services. NSTA and its members are dedicated to leading the school bus transportation industry through a commitment to: safety and security; cost-effective operations; high quality operating standards; professional integrity; environmental responsibility; education and promotion; community involvement and industry advocacy. http://www.yellowbuses.org
