# Dauphin County Moves Its Medical Assistance Transportation Program to rabbittransit

Canonical URL: https://nemtguide.com/news/dauphin-county-matp-rabbittransit/ · Updated 2026-09-30

Dauphin County stopped running its own Medical Assistance Transportation Program (MATP) on June 30, 2026. Since July 1, 2026, rabbittransit, the Susquehanna Regional Transportation Authority, has been the program administrator, responsible for eligibility processing, trip scheduling, mileage reimbursement, and coordination of transportation services. The Dauphin County Commissioners announced the move on May 21, 2026. For any company that drives Medicaid riders in Dauphin County, the office to deal with is now rabbittransit.

## What changed on July 1, 2026

Before the switch, the county's Department of Mental Health/Autism/Developmental Programs was the MATP administrator, named in the grant agreement with the Department of Human Services (DHS) that the commissioners approved on July 16, 2025. The Center for Community Building (CCB) ran the 24-hour call center, intake, and verification under a county contract, and the county signed its own agreements with the carriers that drove the trips.

rabbittransit was already part of the program. Under a county contract for July 2025 to June 2026, worth $1,941,887, it supplied MATP shared rides, Senior Shared Ride trips, and monthly bus passes. In June 2026 it began taking applications and booking rides, and on July 1 it took over the whole program, including mileage payments and coordination of transportation services. The county's notice lists three kinds of service riders can get: shared ride [paratransit](https://nemtguide.com/glossary/paratransit/), fixed-route public transit, and [mileage reimbursement](https://nemtguide.com/glossary/mileage-reimbursement/).

### Key dates

| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| May 21, 2026 | County announcement. rabbittransit mails a welcome letter and new application to riders enrolled through CCB |
| May 29, 2026 | Two virtual stakeholder meetings, at 9 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., hosted by county, rabbittransit, and DHS staff |
| June 1, 2026 | rabbittransit begins taking applications |
| June 10, 2026 | Riders who have not received the mailing are told to call rabbittransit |
| June 15, 2026 | Booking opens for rides on July 1 or later |
| June 17 and June 24, 2026 | In-person information sessions in Harrisburg, at the transfer center at Second and Market Streets and at rabbittransit's office at 901 N. Cameron Street |
| June 25, 2026 | DHS's MATP broker study notes Dauphin is moving from a county hybrid model to a DHS direct agreement |
| July 1, 2026 | rabbittransit runs all Dauphin MATP service |
| July 5, 2026 | First mileage and bus fare reimbursement forms due, then the 5th of every month |
| September 10, 2026 | Last state signature on the amendment that adds Dauphin to rabbittransit's agreement with DHS |

## The state agreement behind the switch

Outside Philadelphia, where DHS uses a broker, Pennsylvania counties run MATP themselves, hire a vendor, share the work with a vendor, or let DHS contract directly with a transit agency. Dauphin moved from the shared model to a direct DHS agreement. Our [report on the DHS broker study](https://nemtguide.com/news/pennsylvania-matp-broker-study/) explains all five models.

DHS's agreement is Intergovernmental Agreement 4100094418 with the Central Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, which does business as rabbittransit. The Susquehanna Regional Transportation Authority is the hiring and managing entity for that authority, so you may see either name on rabbittransit paperwork. The agreement began on October 1, 2022 for three years, and DHS used its two-year renewal option to extend it to September 30, 2027. Amendment No. 1 adds Cambria and Dauphin counties, so the agreement now covers 13 counties: Adams, Cambria, Columbia, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Indiana, Montour, Northumberland, Perry, Snyder, Union, and York. The amendment takes effect on July 1, 2026 or on the date of the last state signature, whichever is later. That last signature is dated September 10, 2026.

rabbittransit budgeted for the work ahead of time. Its budget for fiscal 2026-27, presented to its board on April 30, 2026, adds $1,085,000 in costs for taking over the Dauphin County MATP program. At the board's June 25, 2026 meeting, staff reported that the transition from CCB was scheduled for July 1.

## Who the change affects

### Carriers that drove for the county

For July 2025 to June 2026, the commissioners approved MATP agreements with three private carriers, at these contract amounts, all paid from MATP funds:

- **Boyo Transportation Services**, non-emergency medical transportation for Medicaid members, $774,900
- **Pediatric Healthcare, LLC, doing business as Aveanna Healthcare**, specialized non-emergency medical transportation, $106,596
- **Merakey Pennsylvania**, rides for children to a prescribed treatment program, $25,719

Each of those agreements was with Dauphin County. The county's notice says rabbittransit "will continue working with existing transportation providers to maintain service continuity for Dauphin County residents." Any work after July 1 therefore runs on terms set with rabbittransit. The [Dauphin County page](https://nemtguide.com/states/pennsylvania/dauphin-county/) covers the county's last contracts in more detail, and [managing a broker transition](https://nemtguide.com/guides/nemt-broker-transition/) covers what to settle when the party paying you changes.

### Riders

Every rider enrolled through CCB had to file a new rabbittransit application from June 1, 2026. Riders can travel while they apply, but rabbittransit must receive a signed application within 30 days of eligibility verification, or rides stop. Riders apply on rabbittransit's Dauphin MATP page, through PennDOT's Find My Ride application site, or by calling 1-800-632-9063.

### Clinics, dialysis centers, and discharge planners

Offices that used to call CCB now call rabbittransit at 1-800-632-9063. DHS's MATP contact list, updated June 18, 2026, also gives 717-846-RIDE (7433) for Dauphin, with call center hours of 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Saturday. The May 29 presentation says MATP covers urgent same-day, after-hours, and weekend trips when a medical professional verifies that care is needed within 24 hours, and that a hospital discharge can count as urgent care.

## How rabbittransit runs Dauphin trips

These are the rules rabbittransit gives Dauphin riders, as of September 2026.

| Rule | What riders are told |
|---|---|
| [Pickup window](https://nemtguide.com/glossary/pickup-window/) | 30 minutes, with an automated call the evening before |
| Waiting | The driver arrives in the window and waits five minutes. If early, the wait starts when the window opens |
| [No-show](https://nemtguide.com/glossary/no-show/) | After five minutes, the driver may mark a no-show and move on |
| Where riders may go | Anywhere in Dauphin County and any county that borders it |
| Mode | The [least costly](https://nemtguide.com/glossary/least-costly-mode/) mode that meets the rider's needs. Fixed route bus is generally treated as acceptable when the rider lives within a quarter mile of a bus stop, unless an exception applies |
| Mileage | $0.25 a mile plus parking and tolls with receipts. DHS sets the rate, which may not fall below $0.12 a mile |

The five-minute wait comes from a DHS waiver of the pickup rule in the MATP Standards and Guidelines. DHS granted it on June 26, 2025, effective July 26, 2025, for 11 counties where rabbittransit holds a direct DHS contract, and Dauphin was not among them. As of September 2026, rabbittransit's program page lists Dauphin among 12 counties the waiver covers.

## What stays outside MATP

Stretcher trips and non-emergency ambulance trips are not MATP rides. The May 29 presentation lists both as not covered, along with door-through-door service. Requests outside MATP are referred to the rider's HealthChoices or Community HealthChoices plan, or to the County Assistance Office for fee-for-service members, under MATP Operations Memorandum #11/2022-001. If you run [stretcher vans](https://nemtguide.com/glossary/stretcher-van/), Dauphin requests for those trips go to the rider's plan or the County Assistance Office to decide, not to rabbittransit.

## What providers should do now

1. **Get your rabbittransit terms in writing.** If you drove for the county, confirm your rate, invoice schedule, and payment timing with rabbittransit for trips from July 1, 2026 on.
2. **Close out county invoices.** Those agreements were with the county, so ask its Mental Health/Autism/Developmental Programs office about any unpaid invoices for trips before July 1, 2026.
3. **Start with PUC authority if you are new.** A paid trip that starts and ends in Pennsylvania needs a Public Utility Commission number unless a PUC exemption applies, as the [Pennsylvania guide](https://nemtguide.com/states/pennsylvania/) explains.
4. **Watch rabbittransit's bids.** As of September 30, 2026, its Requests for Proposals page lists no open transportation solicitation. It runs bids on PennBid and sends RFPs on request to info@rabbittransit.org. The [rabbittransit provider guide](https://nemtguide.com/brokers/rabbittransit/) covers its subcontracts and driver checks.
5. **Update facility contacts.** Give dialysis centers and clinics you serve the rabbittransit numbers, so their MATP requests stop going to CCB.
6. **Mark September 30, 2027.** DHS's agreement with rabbittransit runs to that date after its one renewal, so watch for what DHS does next.