SAN MATEO, CA — (Marketwired) — 01/21/16 — For busy families, getting kids from school to sports to tutors and more is a tough challenge and sometimes it may mean passing up some activities simply because it is too hard to get the kids there. Enter . Launching out of beta today, Zum (Zoom) provides the only ride and care service for children ages 5 to 15. With a consistent pool of highly vetted Zumers who both drive and provide childcare, the Zum app and its tracking technology, the new on-demand service offers a safe and trustworthy way to get kids where they need to be. Operating today in the South Bay and Peninsula, Zum will quickly expand throughout the Bay Area and beyond.
Unlike other ride services, Zum is designed specifically for working with children and offers an essential care component too. That way if a family needs a child dropped at soccer, then picked up after practice and brought home before the parents arrive, Zumers stay and take care of her as part of the Zum service.
Created by a team with backgrounds from Stanford, Harvard and eBay and coming out of the esteemed Angel Pad Accelerator, Zum solves a problem that the co-founder personally experienced. “I really struggled with the juggling of all the activities and arranging all the pickups and childcare,” said Ritu Narayan, co-founder and CEO, Zum. “We founded Zum to provide children and parents with a trustworthy, professionally-trained childcare and driving service and create peace of mind for the families.”
An on-demand service, Zum accepts reservations from one day ahead for as-needed service to one year in advance for regular recurring activities and appointments. Using the app (iOS and Android) or the Web, parents can reserve Zum services, check on the progress of any Zum ride and also connect via text or phone to the assigned –family assistant.– The Family Assistant, like a personal concierge, is always available to assist with logistics or issues as they arise. Fees are charged by the quarter hour of time actually used and there are no monthly subscription fees or contracts.
To develop a caring and trusting relationship with the Zumers, every family is assigned a maximum pool of six staff who will get to know each other over time. Carefully selected and screened, Zumers must be over 21, have childcare experience, be Trustline, DoJ and FBI checked and approved, have a clean DMV record and minimum of three years– driving experience. Zum performs a 20-point vehicle inspection for safety, regularly checks the vehicles, monitors the driving patterns and insures drivers and passengers for $1M.
“We created Zum with three big ideas in mind,” said Narayan. “To help families and working people so they can excel in both their personal and professional lives, help the kids develop and participate in all the activities they want and need, both required and optional, and also to create respectful and meaningful jobs for caregivers.”
The company began by offering its services in a limited pilot in July and now services over 500 families with 90 Zumers in the South Bay and Peninsula. Zum has received a round of Angel funding.
Zum offers on-demand ride and care service for children ages 5 to 15, helping busy families to get their kids where they need to be. Founded by a Stanford GSB woman entrepreneur who knows first-hand the frustration and anxiety of getting kids safely where they need to go,
Zum includes a mobile app which makes it simple and fast to schedule services as well as track rides. Sophisticated backend technology enables scheduling so families work with only a limited pool of driver/caregivers. The service is available in the Bay Area and will expand rapidly in the coming year. For more information, visit
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Erica Zeidenberg
Hot Tomato Marketing
925-631-0553
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