Welcome letter for new riders: pickup windows, waiting, cancelling, and who to call
Overview
A new rider welcome letter is a one-page note sent before the first trip that names your company, the pickup time and window, how long the driver waits, how to cancel, who may ride along, how the ride home works, and the numbers to call. Send a large-print copy to riders with low vision, set in type of at least 18 points.
On this page
How to use this letter
Print the letter on your letterhead, fill in the blanks for the program that pays for the ride, and send it to each new rider before the first trip. The numbers differ by program, so keep one version for each broker, plan, or facility you serve. The wording is short on purpose, so a rider can keep it by the phone.
This page is the letter itself. The reasons behind each rule, and the actual numbers from member handbooks and state manuals, are in what to tell a rider before the first NEMT ride. A rider who is blind or has low vision needs the large-print copy described below, and our guide to transporting blind passengers covers the rest of that trip.
The letter
[Your company name], [address], [phone], [office hours]
[Date]
Dear [first name],
Welcome to [your company name]. We will take you to your appointment on [date]. This letter tells you what to expect. Please keep it near your phone.
Your first ride
- Your pickup time is ____ at ____ (door or address).
- Please be ready at the door by ____, which is ____ minutes before your pickup time.
- Your driver may arrive up to ____ minutes before or after your pickup time.
- Look for a ____ van with [your company name] on the side. Your driver will wear ____ and will say hello at your door.
If you are not ready
Your driver will wait ____ minutes. After that, the driver has to leave for the next rider. If you need more time, call ____ before your pickup time.
Who can come with you
____ (for example, one adult). Please tell us when you book, because a person who rides along needs a seat.
What to have with you
Your walker, cane, or wheelchair at the door. Your appointment card and any papers from the doctor’s office. Your phone, if you have one.
Where we will take you
We go to the address on your ride request. The driver cannot stop for shopping or food. If you need a stop, call ____ before the ride.
What your driver can help with
☐ Curb to curb: help into and out of the van at the curb. ☐ Door to door: help from your door to the door of your appointment. ☐ Other: ____
Your ride home
☐ Your ride home is set for ____. ☐ Call ____ when your visit is over. A driver will come within ____ minutes. This is called a will-call ride.
If you need to cancel
Call ____ at least ____ before your pickup time. If you ride through [broker or plan], call them at ____.
If your ride is late
Call ____.
Who to call
- Our office: ____ (open ____)
- After hours: ____
- Your health plan or broker: ____
- Free language help: ____
- To tell us about a problem: ____
We look forward to seeing you.
[Name and title]
The large-print copy
A large-print copy uses type of at least 18 points and a plainer layout, which turns a one-page letter into several pages. The American Printing House for the Blind sets the line: a document is not large print unless the type is 18 points or larger, and anything between 12 and 18 points is enlarged print that does not meet the standard. For the standard letter, use 12 points as the floor, which is the smallest font the federal Medicaid managed care rule allows in written materials that the state and its managed care plans give members (42 CFR 438.10(d)(6)).
| Setting | Standard letter | Large-print copy |
|---|---|---|
| Type size | 12 points or larger | 18 points for text, 20 for subheadings, 22 for headings |
| Typeface | A plain, clear font | No serifs, such as Verdana, Tahoma, or Helvetica |
| Emphasis | Bold | Bold or underline, no italics |
| Line spacing | Single | 1.25 |
| Line length | Full width | About 39 to 43 characters |
| Columns | One or two | None |
| Color and paper | Black on white | Black on white or ivory, with no gray text or gray paper |
Paragraphs in the large-print copy are not indented, and a double space separates them. Offer the copy on the welcome call, and keep it on file so it can go out again when a rider asks. A rider who reads Braille or uses a screen reader needs a different format, which the rider can request from your office.
Filling in the blanks
Take each number from the program that pays for the ride, because pickup windows, waiting times, and cancellation notice are set by the broker, plan, or facility.
- Pickup time and window. Print the pickup time, not the appointment time, and say in plain words how far either side of it the driver may arrive. The pickup window entry explains how programs measure it.
- Waiting. Use the program’s waiting rule, and keep the wording as short as the one in the letter. The wait time entry collects how long drivers wait under different contracts.
- Who can come along. Name the number of people the booking allows. Our guide to the first ride has the rules some programs set for escorts and children.
- Cancelling. In a broker program the rider usually cancels with the broker, so list the broker’s number as well as yours. Our guide to trip cancellations shows notice cutoffs by program.
- The ride home. Tick one of the two lines. A rider with a will-call return needs the number and the response time in the same place.
- Free language help. Put the number of your interpreter line or the broker’s. Which notices to translate is covered in the language access guide.
Writing it so a rider can follow it
Write to the rider as “you” and speak as “we”, and keep each sentence to one request. The federal plain language guidance says active voice shows who is responsible for each action and calls passive voice one of the biggest problems in government writing. It models direct sentences such as “You must include the following information in your application.” The same guide warns that all-capital text is harder to read and can come across as shouting, so do not shout the waiting rule.
Put the thing the rider must do before the reason. “Be ready at the door by 9:15” comes first and the explanation of the window comes after it, if at all. Cut anything the rider does not need before the first ride: reimbursement rules, billing codes, and the name of your software belong elsewhere.
Sending it and keeping a record
Send the letter with the booking confirmation, and read its key lines on the welcome call. Mail a printed copy to a rider without a smartphone or email. Hand a spare to the driver for the first pickup, in case the first copy was lost.
Record the date it went out, and whether the rider asked for large print or another language, on the rider profile. Send an updated letter whenever a number in it changes, and keep the old version with the date so you can show what a rider was told. Reminder messages are a separate job, covered in rider notifications.
Welcoming new riders in HealthRide
Riders get reminder texts before each ride, and a text link lets riders and families follow their driver live, so the letter can stay short. If a new rider never comes out, the trip is marked a no-show with the driver’s waiting time recorded. See the live map and the driver app.
Frequently asked questions
- What goes into a welcome letter for a new NEMT rider?
- Your company name and the van the rider should look for, the pickup time and the window around it, how long the driver waits, how to cancel and whom to call, who may ride along, how the ride home works, what help the driver gives, and the numbers for your office, the after-hours line, and the broker or plan. Keep each item to a sentence or two.
- What type size should a large-print letter use?
- At least 18 points. The American Printing House for the Blind says a document is not large print unless the type is 18 points or larger, and it suggests 18 points for body text, 20 for subheadings, and 22 for headings. Type between 12 and 18 points is called enlarged print and does not meet that standard.
- What is the smallest type size for written materials to Medicaid members?
- The federal Medicaid managed care rule sets 12 points as the smallest font for written materials that the state and its managed care plans give members (42 CFR 438.10(d)(6)). It also asks for easily understood language and for alternative formats and auxiliary aids. A ride company is not the plan, but 12 points is a sound floor for your own letter.
- Should the letter promise an arrival time?
- Give the pickup time and the window around it, not a promise of a minute. The pickup time is not the appointment time, so label each one in plain words. Tell the rider the driver may arrive anywhere inside the window and will wait only the number of minutes your program allows.
- Does the letter need to be translated?
- Translate it into each language that a real share of your riders speak. Medicaid managed care plans must make written materials that are critical to obtaining services available in the prevalent non-English languages of their service area, and must offer free oral interpretation in every language (42 CFR 438.10(d)). If a broker or plan sends you riders, ask which translated notices already exist.
- Who should send the letter and when?
- The office that books the ride sends it, with the booking confirmation, and the dispatcher or an assigned staff member reads the key lines on a short welcome call before the first trip. Record the date it was sent in the rider's profile so the next dispatcher knows.
