Where to list a NEMT business: 211, aging resource directories, and other free listings that send riders

The free listings that bring a NEMT company riders are the ones people use when they ask for help, not general business directories. That means your local 211, the aging and disability network, your region’s mobility manager, the social care directories case workers search, and the map apps on people’s phones. Each has its own rules about who gets listed, and each needs updating when your hours or phone number change.

Google is covered in our guide to Google Business Profile for NEMT, and the NEMT marketing guide covers reviews and your website, so this page covers everywhere else. For the people behind these listings, such as care managers and senior center staff, see how to get private pay NEMT clients.

The listings that send riders

Five listings beyond Google reach people looking for a ride, and they differ most on one question: will they list a for-profit company?

211: read the inclusion rules before you apply

211 is the free information and referral line for local help, and each region runs its own resource database with its own rules for who gets in. According to 211.org, more than 200 local 211 agencies operate in the United States, run by organizations such as United Ways and community action partnerships. The FCC set aside 211 for information and referral in 2000. Most requests are about basic needs, and 211.org counts transportation among them. To be listed, you apply to your local 211, not the national site.

The inclusion rules decide whether a for-profit ride company qualifies. 211 Arizona’s rules are a useful example of what to expect:

• Listing is free for qualified organizations, and inclusion does not mean the 211 endorses you.
• Basic tests: at least six months of providing services, licensed as regulators require, serving Arizona residents, and providing a direct service.
• For-profits are considered when nonprofits do not adequately meet the need, when the program holds a state or federal contract and accepts AHCCCS (Arizona’s Medicaid) or has fees that suit low- and moderate-income people, or when the service is unique or hard to find.
• Exceptions may apply for organizations serving vulnerable groups, including people with disabilities, and the 211 may ask for a site visit or licensing documents.
• A separate application exists for for-profit agencies, and an organization that is turned down can ask for a review by email, with a written reply within 30 days.

Other 211s work differently. 2-1-1 Texas publishes its own selection criteria. To change a listing, you pick a county or region the business serves and reach that area’s resource manager; new agencies, programs and sites are submitted through a separate online process.

When you apply, give the details a 211 specialist needs to make a good referral: the counties you serve, wheelchair and stretcher service, hours, how to book, how much notice you need, and how riders pay. If you take Medicaid trips through a broker, say so plainly, so callers with Medicaid are pointed to the right place.

Aging, disability and transit referral lines

The aging and disability network refers people who will pay privately as well as those who qualify for public programs. The Administration for Community Living, one of the federal agencies behind these centers, says they help people find both public and private resources, whatever their income, and that they also field requests from professionals working for a client.

To get onto those referral lists:

1. Find each county’s agencies. Search eldercare.acl.gov, or call or text 1-800-677-1116, to learn which aging agency and which resource center cover each county you serve.
2. Call the information and assistance line. Ask how the agency keeps its resource list, who maintains it, and what a transportation company must send to be added.
3. Send a one-page summary. Service levels, counties, hours, booking number and rates or how you quote.
4. Ask about contracted rides separately. Many agencies also buy rides for older adults; that is a contract, not a listing, and Older Americans Act ride contracts explains how to win one.

Your region’s mobility manager is the transit side of the same idea. The Coordinated Access and Mobility Technical Assistance Center (CCAM-TAC) describes mobility management as aiming for easy information and referral, so people can learn about and use local and regional transportation. Federal transit law (49 U.S.C. 5310(e)(2)) requires the region’s coordinated transportation plan to be developed with private transportation providers taking part, which gives a ride company a reason to be in the room. The mobility management entry explains how to get a seat in that plan and onto the mobility manager’s referral list.

findhelp: only for free or reduced-cost programs

Findhelp is a national directory of social services that people and case workers search by ZIP code, and it only lists certain kinds of programs. Its FAQ says the programs it lists are direct social services offered at a free or reduced cost. That rules out an ordinary full-price private-pay service.

It can fit a specific program you run. A grant-funded ride program for older adults, a sliding-fee service, or rides you run under a public contract with donations instead of fares may qualify. List that program, not the whole company. If findhelp already lists the program, someone who works for your organization can claim it for free. A claimed program shows a badge meaning the details were reviewed by the organization, and you can update the information and the “next steps” a person should take to get the service. If it is missing, findhelp’s “Suggest a Program” tool lets you submit it.

Apple Maps and Bing, not just Google

Apple Maps listings reach people searching on Apple devices, which a Google profile does not cover. Apple manages these listings through Apple Business, and its user guide walks through adding a location:

1. Sign in and open Brands, then Locations. Choose Add and enter the location’s name. If someone else has already claimed it, add it anyway and request a transfer.
2. Place the pin. Enter the address and drag the map so the marker sits on the right building.
3. Fill in the basics. Display name, primary category, open status, phone number and an optional website, then your hours.
4. Verify and submit. Pick or create a brand. If this is your first location, verify your organization and send it to Apple for review.

Apple also edits listings on its own. If a customer reports that your place card is wrong, Apple can change your name, status or hours and emails the people who manage locations. You can accept the change or contest it, and a disputed name change can take up to five business days to review.

Microsoft’s counterpart for Bing is Bing Places for Business; the old bingplaces.com address now forwards to bing.com/forbusiness. Use the same business name, phone number and hours you used on Google and Apple.

Keep every listing current

A listing with an old phone number sends riders to a dead line, so give upkeep a fixed routine:

1. Keep one sheet. List every directory, its login or contact person, and the date of your last review.
2. Check quarterly. Search for your company on each listing and fix anything that has drifted.
3. Change everything the same week. When your phone, hours, service area or address changes, update all listings together. 211 Arizona, for example, takes changes through an online form that its database team reviews.
4. Answer Apple’s emails. Accept or contest any change Apple makes to your place card.
5. Update your NPI record. If you bill electronically, 45 CFR 162.410 gives you 30 days after any change to your NPPES data to send the update. Our guide to getting an NPI for NEMT covers the record itself.

When a listing turns into a booking

A referral from 211 or an aging agency only counts if the caller can book easily. In HealthRide, riders and families book online, then follow their driver live from a text link. For riders with standing appointments, schedule it once and HealthRide keeps it going. Facilities that find you can request rides and track their vehicles live through their own portal. See recurring trips.