Does PACS give Medicaid trips to outside transportation companies?

Yes. PACS reported 47,436 subcontractor trips for the year ended June 30, 2026, next to 79,673 PACS Medicaid trips. The 2026 Kentucky Public Transit Association directory lists eight subcontractors in PACS's brokerage. The Transportation Cabinet must approve a new carrier before PACS can sign it (603 KAR 7:080).

Which PACS number does a rider call, and which does a carrier call?

Riders book Medicaid trips at 1-800-467-4601. A transportation company asks about a subcontract at the transportation office, 270-886-6641, which is also the broker number on the Cabinet's list. The 270-886-6341 number belongs to PACS's main office and is not the ride line.

How far ahead must a Region 2 rider book?

At least 72 hours, counting weekends and holidays. PACS asks for the rider's Medicaid number, when and where the appointment is, the reason for the trip, any special need such as a wheelchair, and details on anyone riding along. Urgent care and hospital discharges are the exceptions to the 72 hours.

Is Region 2 on Central or Eastern time?

Central. All nine counties lie west of the time zone line that 49 CFR 71.5(c) draws through Kentucky. Regions 1, 3, and 5 also keep Central time where they meet Region 2, so a pickup time near those borders needs no clock conversion.

Does PACS sell rides to people who are not on Medicaid?

Yes. PACS charges $1.25 a mile per person inside the region and $1.50 outside it, with a three-mile minimum that works out to $3.75. Veterans pay $1.00 a mile to medical appointments, with one escort at the same rate. A daily Nashville run costs $12.50 one way.

Pennyrile Allied Community Services Medicaid rides

Who PACS is and what Region 2 covers

PACS is the community action agency for nine counties in western Kentucky, and it holds the Medicaid ride brokerage for all nine as Region 2 of the state’s Human Service Transportation Delivery (HSTD) program. Two agencies founded in 1966 merged on July 1, 1974, and the merger added Caldwell, Crittenden, Lyon, and Livingston counties to give PACS the same nine-county footprint as the Pennyrile Area Development District.

The steps every Kentucky subcontractor follows, from operating authority to Medicaid enrollment, are laid out in the FTSB provider guide, and the Kentucky state guide lists every region and broker. This page covers what is particular to Region 2.

PACS’s year in numbers

PACS ran 310 days of service in the year ended June 30, 2026 and logged 203,134 trips over 2,613,913 miles. Its annual report splits the work this way:

PACS Medicaid trips. 79,673 trips over 1,388,155 miles.
Subcontractor trips. 47,436.
Public transportation trips. 31,428.
Department of Corrections trips. 589.

Dividing PACS’s Medicaid miles by its Medicaid trips gives about 17 miles a trip, against a statewide average of 12.8 miles in the Cabinet’s fiscal 2023 report. Transportation was the biggest line in the agency’s budget: $12,481,079 of $23,717,349 in expenses, or 53 percent, according to unaudited statements for the year.

Does PACS use outside carriers?

Yes. PACS counts 47,436 subcontractor trips beside its own 79,673 Medicaid trips, so outside carriers are a regular part of the network. The 2026 directory of the Kentucky Public Transit Association lists eight subcontractors under PACS’s brokerage: Med Transit, Silver Swan Assisted Transportation, Prestige Transit, One Stop Transit, Ark in Hopkinsville, West KY Transit, Harbor Transit, and Active Day in Hopkinsville.

The same entry calls PACS the major transportation provider in the Pennyrile region and the only one in part of it. The directory’s county list backs that up: PACS stands alone in eight of the nine counties, and Christian County also lists Clarksville Transit System.

Joining takes more than PACS’s agreement. Under 603 KAR 7:080, PACS has to ask the Transportation Cabinet to approve each new subcontractor, and the agreement cannot start before the Cabinet agrees.

PACS’s fleet, cameras, and new building

PACS is investing in its own operation. Its fiscal 2026 report says PACS added over 30 new vehicles, and about 90 percent of its fleet now carries onboard cameras.

Vehicles. The Cabinet’s asset plan, revised August 25, 2026, lists 102 PACS vehicles: 39 vans, 31 minivans, 25 cutaway buses, and 7 SUVs. PACS describes 115 passenger and wheelchair-accessible vehicles in the 2026 directory.
A new Transportation Operations Facility. The 2025-2026 annual report said construction was nearly done. The building will house the schedulers, dispatchers, a safety and training coordinator, a county manager, the Hopkinsville Transit office, and the fleet maintenance manager, with four maintenance bays.
New software. PACS hopes to finish rolling out new scheduling, dispatching, and reporting software this year. Ask your PACS contact what trip records it will expect from carriers once that is live.

Two transportation offices cover nine counties

PACS runs its transportation from two local offices, split by county.

Hopkinsville office (Christian, Todd, and Trigg). 1111 S. Clay Street, 270-886-7999.
Madisonville office (Caldwell, Crittenden, Hopkins, Livingston, Lyon, and Muhlenberg). 190 Madison Square, Suite D, 270-821-3232.

The central transportation office is at the Hopkinsville address, and its number, 270-886-6641, is the one the Cabinet lists as PACS’s broker line. PACS tells Medicaid riders to confirm their pickup time with the local transportation office after booking.

How far ahead do Region 2 riders book?

Riders call 1-800-467-4601 with at least 72 hours’ notice. PACS needs the Medicaid number, when and where the appointment is, why the rider is going, and any special need such as a wheelchair. If someone else rides along, PACS also asks who they are and how they are related.

The scheduling line answers Monday through Friday from 8:00 to 4:30. PACS lists Saturday from 8:00 to 1:00 for Medicaid trips only. Urgent care and the other exceptions to the 72-hour rule are in the Kentucky state guide.

Rides PACS sells outside Medicaid

PACS also sells rides directly to the public, and its posted prices are a useful reference if you set private-pay rates in the same counties.

Individual rides. $1.25 a mile per person inside the region and $1.50 outside it, with a three-mile minimum that works out to $3.75. One rider under 18 travels free with a guardian.
Veterans. $1.00 a mile to medical appointments, with one escort at the same rate, a three-mile minimum of $3.00, and 24 hours’ notice.
Nashville. A daily weekday run leaves the Christian County transportation office at 6:00 a.m. for the VA Medical Center, Vanderbilt, the airport, and the bus station, returning at 3:00 p.m. Fares are $12.50 each way or $25 round trip, and seats are reserved at 270-886-7999 at least a day before.

Hopkinsville Transit, three bus routes inside the city, is PACS’s separate city bus service.

Region 2’s neighbors: two GRITS regions, one LKLP region, and Tennessee

Region 2 touches three other HSTD regions, held by two brokers. GRITS has Region 1 to the west, where Livingston, Lyon, and Trigg meet Marshall, McCracken, and Calloway, and Region 3 to the north and northeast, where Crittenden, Caldwell, Hopkins, and Muhlenberg border Union, Webster, McLean, and Ohio. LKLP has Region 5 to the south and east, where Muhlenberg and Todd meet Butler and Logan.

South of Christian, Todd, and Trigg is Tennessee. A carrier near any of these edges can hold subcontracts on both sides, and working with several brokers covers keeping those accounts apart.

How does a carrier join PACS?

Start with a call to the transportation office, 270-886-6641, after your Taxi or Disabled Persons Vehicle certificate is in hand from the Division of Motor Carriers. Ask which certificate types PACS needs more of in your county, and get the current subcontract rate for each type in writing.

The rest of the approval, from vehicle inspection to the Medicaid enrollment form PACS signs, is the same in every region and is laid out step by step in the FTSB guide. One rule is worth asking PACS about early: under 603 KAR 7:080, PACS must hold an orientation meeting with a new subcontractor before the first trip, and the Cabinet must approve the subcontract first.

What does Region 2 pay?

Region 2’s capitation is $10.83 per member per month in the November 2025 briefing to lawmakers, which is PACS’s income and not your trip rate. The Kentucky Medicaid rates guide compares every region and lists the subcontractor rate adjustments.

Contacts

PACS transportation central office: 1111 S. Clay Street, Hopkinsville, KY 42240, 270-886-6641.
Medicaid ride line (riders): 1-800-467-4601.
Hopkinsville office (Christian, Todd, Trigg): 270-886-7999.
Madisonville office: 190 Madison Square, Suite D, Madisonville, KY 42431, 270-821-3232.
PACS main office: 1100 Liberty Street, P.O. Box 549, Hopkinsville, KY 42241-0549, 270-886-6341 or 800-264-0643, TTY 800-648-6056.
Hopkinsville Transit: 270-890-6055.
Taxi and Disabled Persons Vehicle certificates (Division of Motor Carriers): 502-564-1257.
Transportation Cabinet hotline for denials and complaints: 1-888-941-7433.

Running Region 2 trips in HealthRide

PACS’s own Medicaid trips average about 17 miles, so a record of the miles actually driven is worth having. HealthRide keeps GPS-recorded miles and timestamps on each trip, and drivers capture signatures on screen. The trip log exports as a CSV or PDF when a payment needs checking. On a day that spans Hopkinsville and Madisonville, every vehicle shows on one live map.

Pennyrile Allied Community Services provider guide: Kentucky Medicaid rides in Region 2