About this episode
Dan Reid, the new president of the TTA and the outgoing board chair of NEMTAC, started Grove Transit in Mississippi in 2010 after the 2008 financial crisis ended a 30-year career in mergers, acquisitions and tax. He screened for three things and NEMT hit all of them: a highly fragmented industry, almost no technology, and an aging baby boomer population; in 2010, he says, Excel spreadsheets counted as high tech. In January 2023 he bought an 11-vehicle operation in Lafayette, Louisiana, added Reliant On Call at roughly 50 to 60 vehicles statewide, and merged the two into Go Ride.
Key takeaways
- NEMTAC's job is to create the ruler, not to measure with it, Reid says. Standards are drafted with brokers, providers, insurers, and healthcare people at the table, then go out for public comment.
- The standards give an owner an answer to 'the company down the street does it cheaper.' Reid wants accreditation data on accident rates and on-time performance eventually, but says NEMTAC is still collecting it.
- TTA is running six open houses this year, opening in Arizona in February and closing at Reid's own Baton Rouge operation in September, each paired with hands-on training for providers.
- Reid rebuilt TTA's steering committees around business development, operations, and safety and loss control. The calls run three times a month and draw anywhere from 10 to 50 people.
- At a Ztrip open house in Kansas City, Reid saw Velcro wallets holding each vehicle's gas card, registration, and insurance card clipped to the key board. He ordered them fleet-wide before flying home.
Chapters
- 0:00 Introduction
- 1:00 Dan's background and entry into NEMT
- 4:50 Dan's leadership in NEMTAC
- 8:51 NEMTAC sets standards for NEMT practices
- 11:47 Additional value that NEMTAC provides
- 13:34 TTA, The Transportation Alliance
- 21:54 Why small businesses should join the TTA
- 25:31 RUN BAMBI RUN!!
