How ReliaWheels grew from 2 vans to 30 vehicles in Cleveland with Bambi running dispatch.
Nikola Simic left a 10-year finance career to start ReliaWheels with two wheelchair vans. Less than three years later the Cleveland company runs 30 vehicles, two dispatchers and every trip on Bambi.
Quotes are verbatim from Nikola Simic's 2025 and 2026 podcast interviews with Bambi CEO Nirav Chheda.
From corporate finance to two wheelchair vans
Nikola Simic spent 10 years in accounting, treasury management and corporate finance. Years earlier he had ridden along with home health clients on their medical trips, and in October 2023 he left corporate America to start ReliaWheels in Cleveland, Ohio. He bought a wheelchair van, then a second, set up the LLC and ran the first trip in February 2024 for a local NEMT company around the corner.
Doing everything, from the van
Early on it was Nikola and his mom. He drove, dispatched, answered the phone and chased new business, often at the same time.
"Obviously Bambi helps with that because it's just a matter of clicking a couple buttons, you can pull over on the side of the road and make that happen." Nikola Simic
A van a month
A broker contract opened the floodgates. ReliaWheels added roughly a van a month, reaching nine vans by December 2024 and 13 by spring 2025. By NEMTAC Transform 2026 the fleet was at 30, including 24 wheelchair vans, and the service list had grown to behavioral health trips and a Broda chair alongside wheelchair work. Most trips are brokered, with a growing share of private pay.
"It's funny to look at the map, um, on Bambi. If somebody calls us, we're probably within 20 minutes." Nikola Simic
Building a dispatch bench
As the fleet grew, Nikola hired a driver so he could dispatch full time, then promoted his first driver to dispatch. ReliaWheels now runs two dispatchers plus drivers who can step in as backup, so a sick call never leaves the board empty. The second dispatcher doubles as maintenance lead, using odometer readings from Bambi and the Bambi chat to free up a driver's schedule for an oil change.
Why Bambi
Nikola interviewed and demoed a long list of NEMT software before choosing Bambi, and joined as one of Bambi's first 30 customers.
"I'm glad we picked you guys because, uh, everything that you said, you know, from that meeting, um, not only has panned out, you guys have beat expectation." Nikola Simic
"You filled all the gaps with everything that we did mention on the first call, but then you guys went above and beyond." Nikola Simic
"I am glad that you know Bambi's in place now when I'm starting this... I don't know how companies did it on pen and paper." Nikola Simic
Hear it from Nikola
If somebody calls us, we're probably within 20 minutes.
ReliaWheels is a wheelchair-accessible non-emergency medical transportation company based in Cleveland, Ohio, serving Cuyahoga County and Northeast Ohio. It was founded by Nikola Simic in 2023.
Frequently asked questions
How fast did ReliaWheels grow?
From two wheelchair vans in early 2024 to nine by December 2024, 13 by spring 2025 and 30 vehicles by NEMTAC Transform 2026.
How does ReliaWheels staff dispatch?
Two dispatchers, one of them a promoted driver, with drivers trained as backup dispatchers.
What services does ReliaWheels offer?
Wheelchair transportation, behavioral health trips and Broda chair transport.
