About this episode
Jim Cermak, director of training and customer experience at Driverge, tells Nirav Chheda that commercial NEMT buyers choose rear-entry minivans over side-entry roughly 90 percent to 10 percent, because the passenger rolls straight in facing forward instead of being turned inside the vehicle. A new wheelchair van runs $70,000 to $120,000, which pushes startups toward $10,000 Facebook Marketplace finds where the lift is as old as the van and a replacement costs about $5,000. On electric, Cermak says a 150 mile factory range drops near 100 once the lift, AC, and power doors draw from the battery, so the jury is still out.
Key takeaways
- Rear entry loads faster. The chair goes straight in and locks, with no jockeying to face it forward, and it clears scooters and oversized chairs that a side ramp cannot turn.
- Side entry buys proximity. The passenger sits right behind the driver instead of in the far back, where Cermak says riders can feel more like a piece of luggage.
- The lift is the hidden cost in a used van. On a 15 year old vehicle it has aged just as long, and pulling a corroded lift can expose rust that makes reinstallation unsafe.
- Capacity drives the body choice. A minivan carries one or two wheelchairs for door-to-door work. Chasing hospital or nursing home contracts pushes you to a full-size van at up to four chairs.
- Ask the upfitter for paperwork. Cermak says demand crash test, seat pull test, and CARB emissions results, because garage-built conversions get dicey the moment there is an accident.
Chapters
- 0:00 Introduction
- 1:20 What kind of NEMT service to provide
- 4:23 How much capacity should my vehicle hold?
- 6:55 Rear-entry vs side-entry
- 11:35 New vs used
- 15:59 Electric vs gas
- 18:40 Final thoughts
- 21:42 RUN BAMBI RUN!!
