Lyft Partners to Give Patient Rides

Every year, around 3.6 million Americans miss or delay medical care because they lack appropriate transportation to their appointments. As the metro with the lowest rate of car ownership, this problem looms especially large in New York City – more than half of New York City households are car-free. Since Lyft has long been on a mission to reconnect people and communities through better transportation, we’re making sure people who need rides most are able to get them, starting with a new partnership and a new product being piloted in NYC.

We’re excited to announce that we’ve partnered with National Medtrans Network in NYC, fulfilling rides to non-emergency medical appointments through the Lyft platform. Through this first-of-its-kind partnership, we’re fulfilling 2,500 rides per week in New York City alone, providing dramatic reductions in wait times and missed physician appointments for patients, and increasing passenger satisfaction by 28%.

All of these happy patients are seniors – a demographic with unique needs for reliable transportation solutions. Many have regular medical appointments and limited transportation options. More than a quarter of Americans 65 years and older don’t own smartphones. Our Lyft for Work team has introduced Concierge, a new third-party web request product that allows our partners to request rides for their customers through the Lyft platform. No smartphones required. A requester simply inputs the passenger’s name and pickup and drop-off location, and a Lyft driver will be matched to give the ride.

“Working with Lyft, we’re helping patients live healthier lives by providing reliable, enjoyable rides to their appointments,” said Billy McKee, President of National Medtrans Network. “Using transportation-as-a-service like this, the health plans and government agencies we partner with are significantly reducing fraud, saving costs, and improving the patient experience. We provide over 25,000 livery trips per week in NYC, and our goal is to push all of those through Lyft.”

We’re thrilled to be partnering with National Medtrans Network to bring reliable, welcoming rides to medical appointments in NYC. We hope to expand Concierge to more partners in future, and bring new healthcare options nationwide.