How Bambi helps Premier Transit's owner get home earlier in the evening.
Derrick Edwards built Premier Transit in Mobile, Alabama, on Excel and late nights. Moving scheduling and dispatch to Bambi got him home earlier, and a new dispatcher was moving trips the day after she started.
Quotes are verbatim from Derrick Edwards's podcast interviews with Bambi CEO Nirav Chheda, 2024.
From military transport to NEMT
Derrick Edwards spent his early career coordinating transportation in the military. A conversation with a friend in the industry, and a close look at his local market, led him to start Premier Transit in Mobile, Alabama, in March 2022. By early 2024 the company was running six vehicles and about 100 trips a week.
What he built it on
- Vans as billboards. Clean, wrapped vehicles with a bold logo did the marketing a big ad budget would have done.
- Clean every day. Riders notice, and clean vans turn into referrals and repeat trips.
- Flexible facility agreements. Non-binding service agreements let both sides adjust as the business changes.
- Growth the business can pay for. He added vehicles only when revenue could carry them.
- Fair rates. He researched local rates and priced to protect his margins and the market, not to undercut it.
Late nights in Excel
Before Bambi, Premier's schedule lived in a spreadsheet. Derrick started early, and after everyone else went home he was often still in the office at 9 or 10 at night, making sure every trip was entered and every driver had their trips for the next day.
"It was much faster than typing everything into Excel." Derrick Edwards
Waiting for the right software
Derrick looked at other NEMT software first and held off until something fit.
"Nobody impressed me enough to want to take a chance... I didn't want to start with the software then switch to another one." Derrick Edwards
"I knew it was right from the very beginning." Derrick Edwards
"So, Bambi is user friendly and is pocket friendly." Derrick Edwards
A new dispatcher, moving trips the next day
When Premier hired a new dispatch and office person, she did not need weeks of training. By her second day she was working the board on her own.
"We hired a new dispatch and office person this week and I kid you not... the next day... she was moving all around moving trips you know activating will calls." Derrick Edwards
"I'm more efficient with using Bambi going to add more vehicles." Derrick Edwards
Home earlier
Derrick started with part of the fleet on Bambi to test it, then planned to bring every vehicle on. The biggest change was personal.
"Bambi is running and it's definitely helping me go home earlier in the evenings." Derrick Edwards
His ask for Bambi is simple: keep listening to the people who use it every day, and stay affordable.
What's next
Derrick's five-year plan adds mobility van rentals and sales in Mobile, keeps fleet growth matched to demand, and keeps the focus on service.
Hear it from Derrick
Bambi is running and it's definitely helping me go home earlier in the evenings.
Premier Transit is a non-emergency medical transportation company in Mobile, Alabama, founded in March 2022 by Derrick Edwards.
Frequently asked questions
Where does Premier Transit operate?
Mobile, Alabama.
What did Premier Transit use before Bambi?
Excel spreadsheets for scheduling and dispatch.
How long did it take a new Premier dispatcher to learn Bambi?
Derrick Edwards says his new dispatcher was moving trips and activating will calls the day after she started.
