Software for Sentry transportation providers in the New York metro area
Software for Sentry providers has to run livery cars and ambulettes from one schedule across Sentry's New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut counties. Sentry chooses which network company runs each trip, that company puts a credentialed driver and vehicle on it, and Sentry's team watches the ride live with GPS geofencing. Your system has to match every rider to the right vehicle class and keep each license and inspection current.
On this page
How Sentry work reaches your company
Sentry Management Solutions, based in the Bronx, has been a New York-focused NEMT manager since 2016. Its clients range from health plans and plan members to insurers, hospitals and other care providers, city agencies, and schools. Sentry passes each trip to one of more than 200 companies in its network, which run livery cars, ambulettes, and ambulances.
| State | Counties Sentry serves |
|---|---|
| New York | Every New York City borough, one routing team per borough, plus Nassau, Rockland, Suffolk, and Westchester |
| New Jersey | Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Middlesex, and Union |
| Connecticut | Fairfield |
A Sentry trip moves through fixed stages. Bookings reach Sentry’s platform through calls, the website, the app, or automated intake, and Sentry’s support team confirms each one fits the passenger’s needs. Routers and dispatchers then pick the best-placed company in the network. That company puts a credentialed driver and vehicle on the trip, and the details go straight back into Sentry’s system. Sentry’s team follows the ride in real time from pickup to drop-off, then asks the passenger, driver, and facility how it went.
On the driver’s side, every dispatched trip triggers a notification in Sentry’s driver app with the ride’s details. Drivers use the app to contact passengers and check booking changes or special requests, and fleet owners use it to review how their drivers perform. Sentry also counts over 20 integrations with dispatch software. The Sentry provider guide covers registration and credentialing step by step.
Livery cars and ambulettes on one board
A company that runs both livery cars and ambulettes carries different riders in each, under a different license. The dispatch board has to know the difference on every trip.
| Vehicle | Riders it can carry | What licenses it |
|---|---|---|
| Livery car in New York City | Riders who can walk, on pre-arranged trips; livery bases dispatch cars built for five passengers or fewer | The base, the driver, and the vehicle each hold a TLC license |
| Ambulette in New York State | Riders in wheelchairs or on stretchers, and others with disabilities | A NYSDOT common carrier certificate or contract carrier permit |
| Mobility assistance vehicle in New Jersey | Riders who walk or use wheelchairs, under a physician’s or other provider’s care, who do not need an ambulance; nine passengers at most | A New Jersey Department of Health license under N.J.A.C. 8:40 |
New Jersey draws a hard line on stretchers. Its rule says a mobility assistance vehicle may not carry anyone who has to travel lying down, including bed-bound or stretcher-bound riders, or anyone needing constant attendance. A rider on their own portable oxygen can ride without an EMT on board, provided the crew never has to monitor, regulate, or control the oxygen.
For a mixed fleet, the practical rule is simple: the trip’s level of service and the vehicle’s capabilities must match before the trip reaches a driver. A wheelchair rider assigned to a sedan, or a stretcher rider sent in a New Jersey wheelchair van, means a missed trip at best and a license problem at worst. Software should warn the dispatcher at the moment of assignment, not after the driver arrives.
Licenses and inspections, vehicle by vehicle
Each vehicle class carries its own paperwork calendar, and a lapse on any one of them can take a vehicle off the road.
- TLC licensing. In New York City, the base, the driver, and the vehicle on every for-hire ride all need TLC licenses, and a base license lasts three years.
- NYSDOT inspections. Vehicles that carry passengers under a state or federal certificate or permit are inspected at least every six months. The state has no inspection stations of its own, so each operator provides the space, and inspectors usually call to schedule before the current certificate runs out.
- Article 19-A. New York Medicaid enrollment asks ambulette companies for a DMV letter showing Article 19-A compliance, and the letter must carry a date no earlier than the latest July 1, so track that date as well.
- New Jersey licenses. Mobility assistance vehicle provider and vehicle licenses last no more than 24 months, and no vehicle license can run past the provider license’s expiration date.
Put every one of those dates into the system before the first Sentry trip, then keep driver licenses, insurance certificates, and training records beside them. Sentry expects a credentialed vehicle and driver on every trip, so an expired inspection can cost you the work.
Live monitoring means your data is on display
Sentry watches every trip in real time. A live monitoring team follows vehicles with GPS geofencing, spots rides heading for a late arrival, and lines up a replacement vehicle. Sentry puts its complaint rate at 1.5 per 1,000 trips, with 94 percent of complaints settled on the day they come in.
That changes how a network company should dispatch:
- See what Sentry sees. If Sentry’s team spots a late van on its map before your dispatcher does, the fix may come from another company. A live map with ETAs and late warnings lets you act first.
- Reroute early. Sentry lets network companies reroute their trips whenever they need to. Moving a trip to a driver who can make it on time beats running it late.
- Earn the repeat request. Sentry’s passenger app lets riders ask for a preferred transportation company, and clients booking a ride can pick from a list of companies. Good service can turn into named requests.
Running Sentry trips beside Medicaid, facility, and private work
Sentry trips can share the same vans with other work. Another stream is New York Medicaid, scheduled by Medical Answering Services (MAS), the Department of Health’s transportation broker. Since March 1, 2024, managed long-term care plans no longer arrange their members’ rides, and MAS handles those too. MAS trips follow the state’s own documentation rules, covered in the New York NEMT guide and the MAS provider guide. New Jersey fleets can read the New Jersey guide for the state’s Medicaid broker and licensing rules.
Here is an example day for a fleet with six livery cars and four ambulettes based in the Bronx:
| Trips | Payer | Vehicles |
|---|---|---|
| 40 Sentry trips for plan members and agencies | Sentry | Livery cars and ambulettes |
| 22 Medicaid legs | Booked through MAS | Mostly ambulettes |
| 8 legs for a dialysis center | The facility | Ambulettes |
| 5 private rides | Riders and families | Livery cars |
Every payer on that day has its own rates, evidence rules, and billing route. Tag each trip with its payer at booking, keep the vehicle class on the trip, and bill each stream on its own schedule.
What to look for in software for Sentry work
- Vehicle capabilities on every van. Wheelchair, stretcher, and seat counts recorded, with warnings on a mismatch.
- Level of service on every trip. Visible to the dispatcher and on the driver’s phone.
- A credential calendar. TLC, NYSDOT, and New Jersey dates with reminders before each one expires.
- A live map with late warnings. So your dispatcher sees a late ride before the broker does.
- Fast reassignment. One move to hand a trip to another driver.
- Trip records. Timestamps, signatures, and GPS miles saved on every ride.
- Per-payer rates. Sentry, Medicaid, facilities, and private riders priced and billed separately.
Where HealthRide fits Sentry work
HealthRide connects with your brokers, like MTM, Alivi and Sentry. New Sentry trips show up on your board on their own, with nothing retyped from a portal, as broker connections explains. Sentry trips sit on the dispatch board next to your facility and private rides. Wheelchair, stretcher, and oxygen needs are matched to the right vehicle, and HealthRide flags an expired credential during assignment.
Frequently asked questions
- Where does Sentry Management Solutions send trips?
- The New York City metro area. Each of the five boroughs has its own Sentry routing team. Outside the city, Sentry serves Nassau, Rockland, Suffolk, and Westchester counties in New York, five New Jersey counties (Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Middlesex, and Union), and Fairfield County, Connecticut.
- Which vehicle types does Sentry's network use?
- Sentry counts over 200 companies in its network, running livery cars, ambulettes, and ambulances. It chooses the ride by the passenger's health and the local traffic network, so a trip may go by car, van, taxi, public bus, or subway.
- Can a livery car take a wheelchair rider on a Sentry trip?
- Only if the vehicle is equipped and licensed for it. A New York City livery base dispatches cars built for five passengers or fewer. Ambulettes, the vans New York uses for riders in wheelchairs, on stretchers, or with other disabilities, need a NYSDOT carrier certificate or permit. Match the trip's level of service to the vehicle before it goes to a driver.
- How often are ambulettes inspected in New York?
- At least every six months. NYSDOT inspects vehicles that carry passengers under a state or federal certificate or permit twice a year, and ambulette service falls in that program. The department has no stations of its own, so the operator arranges an adequate space for each inspection.
- Are Sentry trips the same as New York Medicaid trips through MAS?
- No. Medicaid rides in New York go through Medical Answering Services (MAS), the Department of Health's transportation broker, and since March 1, 2024 that has included members of managed long-term care plans. Sentry's work comes from the plans, insurers, care providers, agencies, and schools that contract with Sentry. Treat the two as separate payers with their own rules and billing.
- Can I move a Sentry trip to another one of my drivers?
- Yes. Sentry says the companies in its network may reroute their trips as needed. Its monitoring team also watches for rides likely to arrive late and lines up a replacement vehicle, so moving a trip to one of your drivers who can make it on time beats letting it run late.
