How to Become a MART Transportation Provider in 2027

MART, the Montachusett Regional Transit Authority, is a public regional transit authority based in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. It is one of two brokers the state’s Human Service Transportation (HST) Office uses to arrange rides for MassHealth members and for clients of five other state agencies. MART does not drive these riders itself. It gives each trip or route to a private company under contract, which it calls a transportation provider or vendor. As of 2026, MART’s brokerage page says it contracts with about 350 of them.

Where MART arranges rides

Since July 1, 2021, two regional transit authorities have covered the whole state, and as of August 2026 the HST Office’s provider page still names MART and GATRA. The state divides Massachusetts into three HST service areas:

HST service area	Broker	Covers
Area 1	MART	Western and south central Massachusetts, including Springfield and Worcester
Area 2	MART	North central and northeastern Massachusetts, including Fitchburg, Lowell, and metro Boston
Area 3	GATRA	Southeastern Massachusetts, Cape Cod, and the Islands

As of 2026, MART’s area takes in 286 of the state’s 351 cities and towns. It reaches from the Berkshires to metro Boston and the North Shore, and includes some South Shore towns, such as Hingham, Duxbury, and Marshfield. The line follows town borders, so look up your garage town and the towns you want to serve on the state’s Find your HST broker list. A company can contract with MART, GATRA, or both. For the southeast, see GATRA.

As of 2026, MART brokers rides for six agencies, and the work comes to you in two ways:

Agency	Riders and trips	How MART hands out the work
MassHealth	Rides to covered medical, dental, mental health, and substance use services	Demand response: trip by trip, through a low-cost bid system
MassHealth Day Habilitation and the Department of Developmental Services (DDS)	Daily rides to day and work programs. MART covers 21 of DDS’s 28 area offices	Program-based routes, awarded by bid
Department of Public Health (DPH)	Early Intervention, for children from birth to age 3	Program-based routes, awarded by bid
Department of Mental Health (DMH)	Rides to clubhouses	Program-based routes
Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission (MRC) and Massachusetts Commission for the Blind (MCB)	Rides the agency requests as needed	Providers quote a price, which goes to the HST Office for the agency’s approval

MassHealth members whose coverage includes transportation (Standard, CommonHealth, or CarePlus) can qualify through a PT-1. The member’s MassHealth provider submits a PT-1 transportation request online, and approval can take up to three business days. MART gets approved PT-1s straight from MassHealth. Under its quality plan revised July 23, 2025, its scheduling system books only trips with a valid PT-1 and runs a daily eligibility check that cancels trips for members who are no longer eligible. As of May 2026, MART’s member FAQ says PT-1 rides run 24 hours a day.

Who can become a MART transportation provider

MART’s application FAQ (as of May 2026) sets a bar that rules out brand-new companies:

• One year in business. You must own and operate your own livery (passenger transportation) business for at least a year. Driving for another company, a taxi, or a rideshare app does not count.
• A facility or program contract. Nursing homes, hospitals, Day Habilitation programs, school systems, Head Start, other state or private agency programs, and veterans’ organizations all count. MART verifies every contract you list.
• At least two vehicles and two employees. MART’s October 2023 application guide says the vehicle and employee logs each need at least two entries. The wheelchair (chair car) service needs at least two wheelchair vans.
• Professional references only. Contracts or confirmations of business activity count. MART does not accept personal references.
• A clean business record. In the contract’s business certification, you certify that you are not debarred and have not been in bankruptcy or receivership in the last three calendar years.
• Local licenses. Keep every license and permit that federal, state, or local law requires. MART’s contract describes ambulatory vehicles as ones licensed by the city or town where the business operates, so ask your city or town which license applies to you.

If you are starting from zero, build your first year on private pay and facility work. See how to get NEMT facility contracts and the Massachusetts state guide.

You do not enroll with MassHealth as a transportation provider for these rides. MassHealth Transportation Bulletin 19 (November 2021) says that from April 1, 2022, MassHealth no longer enrolls or pays wheelchair van companies directly for nonemergency rides, and sedan rides for ambulatory members already ran through the brokers. You contract with MART or GATRA instead. Nonemergency ambulance companies can also contract with MART, but they must hold Department of Public Health ambulance licensing.

How to apply to MART, step by step

1. Check the calendar. MART takes applications online only. Since May 1, 2026, it closes applications from May 1 through July 31 every year and reopens them August 1.
2. Read the standards. You sign the state’s Transportation Provider Performance Standards (Attachment G, revised July 1, 2025), MART’s additional standards (Attachment H), and the state’s separate standards for enhanced wheelchair van service (Attachment G1).
3. Gather your documents. The next section lists them. Get your certificates of good standing first, because the application asks for them.
4. Register on MART’s Vendor Management System (VMS). Create an account and complete your company profile. MART says the system does not work well on phones, so use a desktop or laptop.
5. Complete the application. Upload a notarized signature verification form and mail the original. List your transportation contracts with a working email for each reference. Fill in a price chart for each service and each town you want to pick up in, then the employee and vehicle logs. You get an email when MART receives it.
6. Wait for a decision. MART reviews applications in the order received and usually decides within a week of getting a complete one. Sections that need fixing come back marked in the system. A denial email gives the reason, and you can apply again later.
7. Sign the contract. MART sends it through VMS. Attachment A and the direct deposit authorization must be printed, signed, and notarized.
8. Pass the desk audit and vehicle inspections. After MART approves your contract and credentials, you schedule them. Your CORI-certified employee must be there with access to personnel files, and all required training must be done before the audit.
9. Finish Vendor Portal training. It is mandatory. Your start date must fall within two weeks of it.

Stage	Typical time
Application review	Usually within a week once complete
Contracting and onboarding after an award	Up to 90 days
First trips	Within two weeks of Vendor Portal training

MART staff do not meet with applicants or help fill out the application. Send questions to Compliance@mrta.us.

What goes in your MART file

The brokerage contract template (term July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2026) is built from these attachments and documents:

Document	What to know
Attachment A, financial and legal status statement	Notarized. Your legal status must match your W-9
Attachment B, business certification	Covers tax compliance, debarment, and bankruptcy. Tell MART about any change in officers, directors, or legal entity at least 45 days ahead
Attachments C and D, employee and vehicle logs	Every driver, monitor, dispatcher, and supervisor, and every primary and backup vehicle with its VIN and plate. Send updates whenever anything changes
Attachment E, CORI and RMV certification	Names your CORI-certified employee
Attachment F, invoice signers	Who may e-sign invoice cover sheets in the Vendor Portal
Attachments G, G1, and H	The state and MART performance standards you sign
Attachment J, MassHealth Disclosure Form for Entities	Ownership, control, and convictions under 42 CFR 455.104 to 455.106. Refile it every year. MART says this form is the one most often redone and posts a practice copy
Attachments K, L, and O	Training record, a HIPAA acknowledgment signed by every employee, and each employee’s release of information form
Attachment P, direct deposit	Required
W-9	Line 1 may not be blank, and it must match Attachment A
Department of Revenue certificate of good standing	Renewed every year
Secretary of the Commonwealth certificate of good standing	For an LLC or corporation, usually once. Other businesses send a business certificate from their city or town
Supplier Diversity Office certificate	Only if your company is certified

The Department of Revenue certificate is free. Its FAQ (updated December 5, 2024) says to request it in MassTaxConnect, where approved certificates are generally mailed within 24 to 48 hours, while paper requests take 4 to 6 weeks. You must have filed and paid all Massachusetts taxes first. Track the rest with the NEMT credentialing checklist, and see NEMT broker credentialing for how brokers review a file.

What insurance MART requires

Attachment G (revised July 1, 2025) sets these minimums:

Coverage	Minimum
Auto liability, every vehicle	$250,000 per person and $500,000 per occurrence bodily injury, plus $50,000 property damage
Program-based routes, 1 to 5 seats including the driver	The same as above
Program-based routes, 6 to 8 seats	$500,000 combined single limit
Program-based routes, 9 to 15 seats	$1,000,000 combined single limit
Program-based routes, 16 or more seats	$5,000,000 combined single limit
Workers’ compensation	Every driver and monitor. MART’s contracting FAQ adds owners, sole proprietors included

Attachment H adds the conditions your agent must build into the policies:

• For vehicles with 9 or more seats, a business auto policy plus an umbrella or excess policy can meet the limit together.
• The Commonwealth, EOHHS, the HST Office, MART, and their officers, directors, employees, agencies, and agents are additional insureds on the auto and umbrella policies, on a primary and noncontributory basis.
• Workers’ compensation and employer’s liability carry a waiver of subrogation in favor of HST and MART.
• Deductibles are yours, and the policies must give MART 30 days’ written notice before any cancellation or change.
• Renewed certificates are due to MART by noon three business days before the old policy expires. If they are late, your work is reassigned from 1 p.m. that day and you are on hold until MART confirms coverage. Have your agent email them to Compliance@mrta.us.

The certificate of insurance lists MART as certificate holder and carries this description, as MART’s contracting FAQ gives it:

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts, EOHHS, the HST office, Montachusett Regional Transit Authority (MART) and their respective officers, directors, employees, any Brokerage Covered Agencies, and its agents are additional insured with respect to auto liability, as it relates to the transportation services provided by the insured, where required by written contract.

See NEMT insurance requirements and workers’ comp for NEMT.

Driver and monitor rules

Attachments G and H set these rules for every driver, and monitors meet most of them too:

Check	Standard
Age and license	At least 19, with a valid Massachusetts license (or one from a bordering state) for the vehicle type, and at least 1 year of current US driving experience, including multi-passenger vehicles
Communication	Effective spoken English with riders and facility staff
CORI	Before any contact with riders, then every year, with hiring decisions under 101 CMR 15.00. Your company names at least one CORI-certified employee
SORI	On file, then repeated every year, under 606 CMR 14.00. Any positive result bars the person from HST trips
Driving history	A 7-year record from every state where the driver lived or was licensed, reviewed every year. No DUI, reckless driving, leaving the scene, driving without a license or insurance, driving while suspended, or repeated violations in 7 years
License monitoring	Your company enrolls in the RMV Driver Verification System, which is free to join, and gives MART and HST view access
Drug and alcohol tests	Before any contact with riders, on reasonable suspicion, and after an accident with riders aboard. An off-site lab certified under the National Laboratory Certification Program does the testing, and results go to MART
Health	Written health records, and physically able to help riders in and out
DDS and Day Habilitation	A fingerprint-based national background check under 115 CMR 12.00 for anyone with unsupervised contact

After a suspected impairment or an accident, the alcohol test must happen within 8 hours and the drug test within 32 hours. A positive result or a missed deadline removes the person from all agency work for good. The drug panel covers marijuana, cocaine, opioids, amphetamines, and PCP. See NEMT driver drug testing and NEMT driver background checks.

Every driver and monitor finishes training before the first trip and again every year:

• Defensive driving, reacting to skids, and handling a stall or brake failure (drivers)
• Safety equipment, the first aid kit, radios, and emergency evacuation
• Accident procedures and incident reporting
• Hands-on seat belt and child safety seat use
• Hands-on wheelchair lift and securement, taught by a trainer certified by the Community Transportation Association of America (CTAA), the University of Wisconsin, or another program MART approves
• Human rights, disability awareness, passenger assistance, and service animals
• Sexual harassment
• HST and agency standards, including mandated reporting of abuse or neglect, Medicaid fraud, and HIPAA

Training on safety equipment, accident procedures, and HST standards can be done in-house by approved staff. The driving, belt, securement, sensitivity, and harassment courses need an instructor certified by CTAA, the University of Wisconsin, or a program MART approves. MART can point you to trainers, but you arrange and pay for all training. Wheelchair van drivers also get a securement check from MART every six months, and a failed check means full retraining. See wheelchair securement and NEMT driver requirements.

Each driver’s personnel file holds credentials, references, a copy of the license, yearly CORI and SORI results, health and drug test records, yearly driving histories, training records, and performance reviews. Keep records for seven years.

Vehicle rules

Rule	Standard in Attachments G and H
Registration and inspection	Garaged and registered in Massachusetts or a bordering state, with a passed RMV inspection on file before first use. Registration and plate must match the inspection sticker
Age limit	Demand response: under 15 years from manufacture. Program-based: under 7 years for sedans and vans, under 9 years for lift vehicles and those with more than 15 seats. MART can grant waivers in six-month steps, up to two extra years, each with a new state inspection
Markings	Your business name in letters at least 2 inches high on the right passenger door and on the rear
Rider ID card	In plain view: your name, MART’s name and complaint number, and how to complain to the HST Office
Safety gear	A seat belt for every occupant, a belt cutter within the driver’s reach, a gauged ABC fire extinguisher (2.5 pounds in sedans and minivans, 5 pounds in larger vans and chair vans), a first aid kit with a biohazard bag, a flashlight, three reflective triangles, and wheel chocks except in sedans and minivans
Comfort and weather	Working air conditioning and heat, and snow tires or the equivalent from November 15 to April 15
Communication	A cell phone or two-way radio in each vehicle, with your base staffed whenever a vehicle is out. Your office takes calls from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays and whenever a vehicle is still out, with a 24-hour answering system after hours
GPS	Tracking that shares location and actual arrival times with MART and EOHHS in real or near real time
Backups	At least one spare vehicle like those in service and one backup driver for every 10 vehicles. A backup must be in service within 30 minutes of MART’s request

Wheelchair vans need a hydraulic lift with manual backup or a ramp, a roof raised at least 12 inches, side doors at least 54 inches high, and ramps rated for 600 pounds on converted minivans. Use Q’Straint, AMF-Bruns, or Sure-Lok securement, with four tie-down straps plus a lap and shoulder belt for each chair. Every vehicle you add after your first fleet inspection is inspected by MART before it carries riders, and a new or reactivated wheelchair van cannot do any MART work until it passes. Drivers cycle the lift each day before use, and the lift gets maintenance every 750 cycles.

Every vehicle also gets a written daily inspection that checks seat belts, the lift, and securements, kept on file for three months. The vehicle inspection checklist covers the basics.

How MART sends trips and sets prices

When you apply, you choose your services and set a price for each one in each town you want to pick up in:

Service	What it means at MART
Taxi	Ambulatory trips, mostly short. Your pickup fare does not have to include any miles
Dial-A-Ride	Ambulatory trips, mostly longer. Your pickup fare must include at least the first 5 miles
Chair car	Wheelchair van trips, for companies with at least two wheelchair vans
Enhanced wheelchair van	Service under the state’s separate enhanced wheelchair van standards. Riders going to medical appointments ride in a wheelchair the whole way, whatever their condition

MART’s system uses mapping software to set each MassHealth trip’s mileage and fare and to pick the provider through its low-cost bid system. Trips appear in MART’s Vendor Portal with the loaded miles and fare already stamped. MART can also offer work by automated call-out, phone, or fax. Dispute the miles or fare before you accept, because no increase is accepted at invoice time.

The Vendor Portal rules, from Attachment H:

• Daily acceptance. Accept or decline offered work every day on MART’s schedule. Work you leave unaccepted is removed at a set time, and failing to respond can shrink the number of trips MART offers you.
• Two weeks ahead. MART downloads 14 days of trips in advance.
• Capacity. A scheduling grid sets how much work you can take. You can change it, and MART can adjust it based on your performance.
• Holidays. MART’s office closes on 11 holidays, so accept and download that work ahead of time.
• Internet. You need internet access at all times.

As of May 2026, MART’s provider page says its contracts require MassHealth providers to use its scheduling web portal, where you add drivers, accept work, assign rides, and push them to drivers in real time. It comes with a dispatcher app and a driver app, which let you accept work away from the office and follow your drivers by GPS. See NEMT GPS tracking.

You can change demand-response rates once a quarter. Submit new rates in the Vendor Portal by the 6th of the month before the quarter starts, which is June, September, December, or March. Then sign and return the adjustment by close of business on the 12th. New rates do not apply to existing standing orders or shared ride groups. You can also add or drop towns each quarter, but MART may remove your rates for a town where you keep turning down trips. MART posts its most recently applied rates on its Become A Transportation Provider page. As of April 2026, the file posted there covered April 1 to June 30, 2026.

The trip standards you work to:

Situation	Standard
On time	Between 10 minutes before and 10 minutes after the scheduled pickup, under the contract’s definition for demand-response trips
Arriving early	Never more than 15 minutes before the scheduled pickup, and never change the pickup time without MART’s permission
Waiting before a no-show	At least 10 minutes past the scheduled pickup. Call your dispatcher and wait for instructions before leaving
No-show	The rider did not cancel at least 1 hour before pickup. Report it in the Vendor Portal
Will-call returns	Pick up within 1 hour of the rider’s call
Shared rides	No more than 45 minutes added to a direct trip, and no rider aboard more than 1.5 hours. Do not split or change a shared ride group without MART’s approval
Running late	Tell MART before the scheduled pickup
Same-day requests	MART tries to arrange pickups as soon as 1.5 hours after a member calls
Escorts	Personal care attendants and approved escorts ride free. Children under 13 ride with someone 18 or older
Tolls and parking	Never charged to the rider
Giving trips back	A same-day return generally brings a returned-trip fine. Stopping a standing order takes 3 business days’ notice
Critical incidents	Phone MART, and the facility if there is one, while it is happening. A voicemail does not count. A written report follows within 24 hours
Bad weather	Your call, made at least 2 hours before the trip when possible. Tell the rider, the program, and MART

MART expects you to share rides whenever you can. Failing to do so is a Type A violation, and a shared group must cost less than carrying each rider separately. See NEMT multiloading.

Program-based routes work differently. MART awards them to the low-cost qualified bidder through a request for proposals at the start of a contract period, and adds new routes the same way. In MART’s written answers to bidders for the routes that began July 1, 2024, DDS, Day Habilitation, and DMH routes were priced as a cost per vehicle per day, planned on full vehicles and a 90-minute routing window. Early Intervention rides were priced per child for each one-way trip. A route priced per day is paid as long as at least one rider is carried to and from the program that day, based on accurate attendance records. Cancellations on per-child work are not paid.

How MART pays

Attachment H (revised July 1, 2024) sets these terms:

• Invoices. Send them in the Vendor Portal twice a month or monthly, depending on the program, within two business days after each billing cycle closes. Include a cover sheet, which authorized staff can sign electronically. You need software that can download a CSV file.
• Payment. MART finalizes invoices within six business days after the cycle closes and pays within 45 days of receiving an approved, finalized invoice. Direct deposit is the only method.
• Trip IDs. Under the FY2026 quality plan, a billed trip without a MART trip ID is denied.
• No-shows. No-shows and cancellations at the door are not paid. Only completed legs are.
• Shared rides. MART pays mileage only for the group’s total loaded miles, and splits the total cost equally among the riders.
• Monthly cost report. Each month, report roughly what share of your MART revenue goes to vehicle operations, vehicle maintenance, facility upkeep, leases, and administration.

Back every invoice with a daily trip sheet that the driver signs. It lists each one-way trip with a box for transported, canceled, or no-show, plus the driver’s name, the plate number, the date, the rider’s name, and the pickup and drop-off places and times. The NEMT trip log template has those fields, and how to bill NEMT brokers covers the rest. MART checks trips through monthly random samples and rider surveys. Billing for trips you did not run can bring recoupment, fines, suspension, prosecution, or termination. MART reports it to MassHealth, which can send it on to its fraud unit and the Attorney General’s office.

Fines and performance reviews

The contract’s accountability procedure sorts problems into two types. MART chooses the action for each confirmed complaint, and a fine is one option among warnings, action plans, training, and loss of riders or routes:

Violation	Examples	Possible fine
Type A, first in a contract year	Late or wrong invoices, outdated staff or vehicle lists, not completing a trip you accepted, not sharing rides	$150
Type A, two or more in a contract year	The same, or not keeping records for 7 years	$300
Type B, first in a contract year	Unsafe boarding or securement, unqualified staff, lapsed insurance, late pickups, no-shows by your driver	$250
Type B, two or more in a contract year	The same	$500, with possible suspension or termination

Attachment H adds liquidated damages:

Problem	Charge
Rider waited more than 45 minutes for a scheduled, non-urgent pickup	$100 each
Rider waited more than 3 hours	$500 each
Rider documented as needing to ride alone was grouped with others	$1,000 each
Wheelchair not secured and the rider was hurt	$5,000 each
Your company was excluded from Medicaid or another federal health program for fraud or abuse and did not tell MART	$5,000
An employee removed from MART work had contact with a rider	$5,000 each

The wait-time charges do not apply when MART finds that unexpected weather, a natural disaster, or something else beyond your control caused the delay. You can appeal a fine in writing within 10 days of the fine letter.

MART also tracks complaints and GPS data. For demand-response work, complaints should stay under 1 percent of your scheduled trips each month. One month over brings a written warning and a performance review. If you have not improved after the second month, MART puts you on a 60-day corrective action plan and cuts your trip capacity to 80 percent. If that fails, capacity drops to 50 percent, and 60 days back on target restores it one step at a time. Failing at 50 percent brings a full review and possible suspension of 15 to 30 days or termination. At least 90 percent of your confirmed demand-response trips must carry GPS data sent to MART and EOHHS in real or near real time. See NEMT broker penalties.

Ending or changing your MART contract

• Without cause. Either side can end the contract with 60 calendar days’ written notice.
• For cause. Either side can end it on at least 7 calendar days’ written notice, which may give time to fix the problem. MART can end it at once for gross misconduct or endangerment, or when the HST Office requires it.
• Funding cuts. MART can end it on at least 30 days’ notice if an agency’s funding is cut or ends.
• Program-based routes. Returning a route takes at least 60 days’ written notice, and you keep running it until then.
• Closing your office for a while. Give MART written notice at least a week before. A closure longer than 30 days needs written follow-up on your plans that MART agrees to, or MART ends the contract.
• Selling your company. The contract cannot be assigned without MART’s written consent, and HST subcontracts do not transfer without the HST Office’s approval. Disclose a change in ownership within 35 days, and tell MART about changes in officers, directors, or legal entity at least 45 days ahead. See how to sell a NEMT business.

MART’s posted contract template runs from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2026, and its current standards were updated by an amendment effective July 1, 2025. Ask Compliance@mrta.us for the version in force when you apply.

Who to call at MART

MART asks providers to use its group inboxes rather than emailing individual staff. These contacts are current as of May 2026:

For	Contact
Applications, contracts, rate changes, audits, and inspection follow-ups	Compliance@mrta.us
Problems with the application system	techsupport@mrta.us
Demand-response trips, standing orders, mileage and fare questions, trip returns, shared rides	Scheduling@mrta.us
Demand-response delays, complaints, no-shows, weather, and accidents	QualityAssurance@mrta.us
Program-based delays, complaints, no-shows, weather, and accidents	ProgramManagement@mrta.us
MassHealth invoicing	DMAinvoices@mrta.us
DDS and Day Habilitation invoicing	DDSdayinvoices@mrta.us
Payments	APinvoices@mrta.us
Brokerage office	100 Main Street, Fitchburg, MA 01420. 978-353-0333, fax 978-343-0339, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday to Friday
MART headquarters	1427R Water Street, Fitchburg, MA 01420. 978-345-7711 or 800-922-5636
Member ride lines	800-854-9928 or 866-834-9991
State HST Office	617-847-3427, HSTinfo@mass.gov, 100 Hancock Street, 8th Floor, Quincy, MA 02171

Before you apply, have your certificates of good standing, W-9, insurance quotes at MART’s limits, facility contracts, and driver and vehicle lists ready. Decide which towns and services you will price, because MassHealth trips are offered by low-cost bid on those rates.