# StarMetro Dial-A-Ride: How Tallahassee Runs Leon County Paratransit and Buys Trips from Private Operators

Canonical URL: https://nemtguide.com/states/florida/leon-county/ · Updated 2026-10-02

StarMetro Dial-A-Ride is the City of Tallahassee's shared-ride service for riders with disabilities and for Leon County's Transportation Disadvantaged program, which the city runs as Florida's only city-government coordinator through June 30, 2027. Riders book at 850-891-5199 and pay $2.50 a trip. StarMetro drives part of the work itself and buys the rest from Big Bend Transit, Yellow Cab, and ride-hailing under city contracts.

- StarMetro is the only city government in Florida serving as a county coordinator, and its term runs to June 30, 2027.
- Taxis carried 48,007 of Leon's 112,101 coordinated trips in 2024-25, at about $15 a trip.
- Outside operators come in through City of Tallahassee proposals, on three-year contracts with no guaranteed trips.
- The board found StarMetro short of its no-show and complaint standards in March 2026, and in June a member pointed to the outside operators.
- Tallahassee's vehicle for hire chapter does not exclude wheelchair vans, so ask about a company permit before you carry riders in the city.

## Leon County NEMT at a glance

| Fact | Details |
| --- | --- |
| Coordinator | StarMetro, City of Tallahassee, 555 Appleyard Dr. Coordinator since July 1, 2002; its current state term runs July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2027. |
| Ride line and fare | 850-891-5199. $2.50 a trip in exact change or tokens. Priority trips book up to 14 days ahead and by 5 p.m. the day before. |
| Outside operators | Big Bend Transit, Yellow Cab, and a ride-hailing company (April to June 2026 report). No coordination contractors. |
| How providers are picked | City of Tallahassee request for proposals. Three-year contracts with two optional one-year renewals and no guaranteed trips. |
| Billing rates from July 1, 2026 | $24.40 an ambulatory trip and $41.83 a wheelchair trip, in the service plan updated June 17, 2026 |
| Trips, 2024-25 | 112,101 (26,568 medical), 48,007 of them by taxi, on 85 vehicles with 83 drivers, at $22.20 a trip |
| State trip grant | $697,749 in 2025-26, all spent by June 30, 2026. The 2026-27 draft is $791,472 plus an $87,941 local match. |
| City permit | Tallahassee vehicle for hire company permit from $250 a year for one to five drivers, plus driver permits and yearly inspections (code chapter 22) |
| Medicaid | Region A. Modivcare books rides for members outside a plan. Sunshine Health had 19,705 of the county's 30,844 main-plan members on August 31, 2026. |

## Who arranges rides here

- [StarMetro, City of Tallahassee](https://www.talgov.com/starmetro/dial-a-ride): County coordinator; runs Dial-A-Ride and holds the contracts with outside operators. (850) 891-5200
- StarMetro Dial-A-Ride reservations: Books Dial-A-Ride trips and sends the application for transportation assistance. (850) 891-5199
- [Apalachee Regional Planning Council](https://www.arpc.org/transportation-disadvantaged): Staffs the Leon County Transportation Disadvantaged Coordinating Board. (850) 488-6211
- [Modivcare, Florida fee-for-service](https://www.modivcare.com/transportation-providers-contact-us/): Books Medicaid rides for Region A members who are not in a health plan. (866) 726-1457

StarMetro Dial-A-Ride is two programs behind one phone number. ADA paratransit serves riders whose disabilities keep them off the bus, for trips within three-quarters of a mile of a StarMetro route. The Community Transportation Coordinator Program, which StarMetro calls the CTC Program, carries Leon County residents outside the bus area or bus hours who have no other way to travel. For a van or taxi company, Dial-A-Ride matters because the city buys a large share of its trips from outside operators that it chooses by city request for proposals.

The CTC Program is Leon County's share of the Transportation Disadvantaged program, Florida's state-funded ride service for people who cannot drive or buy a ride because of age, disability, or income, which each county runs through one [community transportation coordinator](https://nemtguide.com/glossary/community-transportation-coordinator/). Medicaid enrollment, background screening, and the state's vehicle rules are in the [Florida guide](https://nemtguide.com/states/florida/).

## Who runs StarMetro Dial-A-Ride

Leon is the only Florida county whose coordinator is a city government. Big Bend Transit, a private nonprofit, was the first coordinator, from 1991 until December 1995, and COMSIS Mobility Services held the role from January 1996. The state commission approved the city's transit agency, then called Taltran, on March 28, 2002, and it took over on July 1, 2002 under an interlocal agreement in which Leon County helps pay for trips no other program covers. The service plan says the county's share has topped $100,000 a year for several years, sometimes reaching $120,000.

The state commission's latest designation, on June 22, 2022, gave StarMetro a five-year term from July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2027. The Apalachee Regional Planning Council (ARPC) is the planning agency. It staffs the Leon County Transportation Disadvantaged Coordinating Board and, when a term ends, recommends the next coordinator to the state. In 2026 ARPC advertised for letters of interest and qualifications from would-be coordinators in Calhoun, Franklin, Gulf, and Wakulla counties. For Calhoun, responses for the term starting July 1, 2026 were due January 28, 2026, which gives a sense of when a notice for Leon's July 1, 2027 term could appear.

### How riders use Dial-A-Ride

From StarMetro's Dial-A-Ride page as of October 2026 and the service plan updated June 17, 2026:

- **Applying.** Every rider files an Application for Transportation Assistance, which you can request at 850-891-5199, pick up at 555 Appleyard Drive, or download from the city's website. StarMetro decides within 21 business days of a complete application and books nothing before then.
- **Who qualifies for the CTC Program.** A resident who needs rides outside the bus area or hours, depends on others to get around, and is 60 or older, has a diagnosed medical condition or disability, or takes part in an approved income-based assistance program. A trip another program will pay for does not qualify.
- **Fare.** $2.50 a trip, in exact change or prepaid tokens, because drivers carry no money.
- **Booking.** Dialysis, medical, work, school, and ADA trips can be booked up to 14 days ahead and no later than 5 p.m. the day before, by phone Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Other CTC trips are booked between 3 and 5 p.m. for the next day, and once the schedule is full no more are taken. Same-day requests are not accepted.
- **Hours.** Monday to Friday from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday from 6:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sunday from 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Bookings allow 1.5 hours of travel time on CTC trips and 1 hour on ADA trips.
- **The ride.** Curb to curb unless door-to-door is requested, a 30-minute pickup window, a five-minute wait, and cancellations at least one hour before pickup. Service stays inside Leon County.
- **Priority.** The board's policy, reaffirmed June 26, 2024, puts dialysis first, then other medical trips, then work and school. Trips are given out up to a daily cap set by funding and seats.

### Leon County in numbers

Fewer vehicles and more taxi trips are the trend. The state's operating reports for the last three years:

| Measure | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total trips | 120,996 | 120,779 | 112,101 |
| ADA paratransit trips | 43,648 | 36,857 | 28,480 |
| Taxi trips | 40,418 | 45,921 | 48,007 |
| Ride-hailing trips | 0 | 3,125 | 5,694 |
| Trips StarMetro drove itself | 44,205 | 40,686 | 39,932 |
| Trips by contracted operators | 76,791 | 80,093 | 72,169 |
| Vehicles and drivers | 134 and 125 | 103 and 121 | 85 and 83 |
| Cost per trip | $21.13 | $19.23 | $22.20 |

The Medicaid agency paid for none of these trips in any of the three years. The 2024-25 report lists 26,568 medical trips and 46,298 work trips, and 36 of the 85 vehicles in the system, the operators' included, were wheelchair accessible.

The latest quarter looks the same. From April to June 2026 Dial-A-Ride gave 22,981 trips, 15% of them for riders in wheelchairs: 11,713 ADA trips, 9,140 paid by the state trust fund, 1,790 paid by the Florida Department of Transportation, and 338 others. StarMetro logged 37 unmet requests and 732 no-shows, and it had spent all $697,749 of its 2025-26 state trip grant. The state's draft grant for 2026-27, in the commission's June 11, 2026 package, is $791,472 plus an $87,941 local match.

## Who drives Dial-A-Ride trips

StarMetro runs what the state calls a partial brokerage: its own drivers carry part of the work, and it buys the rest. Its quarterly report for April to June 2026 names three outside operators: Big Bend Transit, Yellow Cab, and a ride-hailing company. The state report counts one nonprofit and two for-profit operators and no coordination contractors, so no agency carries its own clients under a separate agreement here.

Taxis carry the largest share. In 2024-25 StarMetro paid $727,099 for 48,007 taxi trips, about $15 a trip, and $66,989 for 5,694 ride-hailing trips. It paid contracted van operators $540,310, down from $896,366 the year before. Take the taxi and ride-hailing trips out of the 72,169 operator trips and about 18,500 remain, which works out to roughly $29 a trip.

Big Bend Transit, Leon's first coordinator, is now the coordinator for Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Jefferson, Madison, and Taylor counties. The service plan says anyone in Leon may call it and pay the full cost of a ride, which runs close to taxi fares, and that most of those private requests are for wheelchair service.

### How StarMetro buys trips

StarMetro picks outside operators through requests for proposals run under City of Tallahassee procurement rules, and proposals that meet the advertised criteria are awarded trips. The terms are three years plus two optional one-year renewals, with no promise of vehicles, hours, or trips, and the city may rebid whenever a contract ends or is ended. Each operator's rate is set in its contract and amendments. The [government NEMT contracts](https://nemtguide.com/guides/government-nemt-contracts/) guide covers how to find and answer city bids.

Two payment details are worth knowing before you bid. The service plan says StarMetro reimburses the provider the full contract cost of each trip, less the fare collected. StarMetro also attests every quarter that each vendor is paid under Exhibit A, Section 6.2 of its Community Transportation Services contract, and Rule 41-2.006 gives a coordinator 7 working days to pay a subcontractor after it is paid itself.

The billing rates in the June 17, 2026 plan, effective July 1, 2026, are $24.40 an ambulatory trip and $41.83 a wheelchair trip. Those are what StarMetro bills the state program, not the price an operator is paid.

### What the contract asks of you

From the service plan updated June 17, 2026:

- **Insurance.** The limits in your contract, at or above the state floor of $200,000 per person and $300,000 per incident in Rule 41-2.006. See [NEMT insurance requirements](https://nemtguide.com/guides/nemt-insurance-requirements/).
- **Drivers.** First Aid and CPR certification for every driver, FDLE background screening under chapters 393 and 435 of the Florida Statutes, drug and alcohol testing under the Federal Transit Administration's rule at 49 CFR Part 655, and a training program that meets Rule 14-90, including defensive driving and passenger assistance. The safety plan limits consecutive hours behind the wheel. Badges show at least the driver's first name and company.
- **Vehicles.** Seat belts, wheelchair securement with lap and shoulder belts, a dry chemical fire extinguisher inspected every year, a first aid kit, a two-way radio, and on-board video cameras, required since January 1, 2018. Each vehicle passes a yearly Rule 14-90 safety inspection, carries the company or coordinator name on the outside, is cleaned inside daily and outside weekly, and has working air conditioning and heat.
- **Backup and reporting.** One backup vehicle for every 10 in service. Tell StarMetro and emergency responders at once about any emergency, collision, or delay, and file a written report with a management analysis within 24 hours.
- **What drivers do not do.** Drivers may not take a wheelchair up or down more than one step, through grass or sand, or up a slope steeper than 1:12, and they do not load riders' bags. Riders may bring two bags they can carry on their lap.

## How the board grades Dial-A-Ride

The service plan sets these local standards:

- **Pickups.** 95% of riders picked up within 30 minutes of the requested time.
- **Time on board.** 95% of riders within three-quarters of a mile of a bus route ride no more than an hour, and 95% of riders farther out no more than an hour and a half.
- **Safety and reliability.** No more than 1.2 accidents per 100,000 vehicle miles and no more than 1 road call per 10,000 vehicle miles.
- **Phones and complaints.** 95% of callers reach an agent within two minutes, and no more than 1 complaint per 100,000 vehicle miles.

The board's annual review, approved March 18, 2026, found StarMetro out of compliance on two counts: no-shows and complaints per vehicle mile. The state report counts 183 complaints in 2024-25 against 797,342 vehicle miles. At the June 17, 2026 meeting the board's vice chair, a rider herself, said the reliability complaints she hears come mainly through the third-party operators, and asked StarMetro to hold every operator to the standard the board holds StarMetro to. An operator that can show steady on-time numbers has a real case to make here.

The board's seat for the private transportation industry has been empty at every meeting from September 2025 through June 2026. The board meets quarterly at ARPC, 2507 Callaway Road, Suite 100, Tallahassee, and meets next on November 18, 2026 at 2 p.m., with a public workshop and training for new members. ARPC's TD program coordinator answers at 850-312-1862.

## Does Tallahassee require a permit for wheelchair vans

It may. Chapter 22 of the city code, rewritten by Ordinance 15-O-10AA on July 8, 2015 and amended by Ordinance 23-O-20 on June 14, 2023, defines a vehicle for hire as any vehicle that carries passengers for a fare, fee, or other charge in the city. Its exclusions are school, church, college, and university buses, sightseeing vehicles, ambulances, funeral home vehicles, interstate buses, limousines, shuttle buses, and ride-hailing vehicles. Wheelchair and medical vans are not on that list, so ask the city's vehicle for hire administrator before you carry riders inside city limits.

Where the chapter applies:

- **Company permit.** An annual fee set by the number of drivers: $250 for one to five, $1,000 for 6 to 25, $2,500 for 26 to 75, $7,500 for 76 to 150, and $12,500 above 150. You keep a phone number answered 24 hours a day, a driver list, a vehicle log, and a zero-tolerance drug and alcohol policy.
- **Drivers.** A city permit or company certification, good for two years, backed by a national criminal background check, a national sex offender registry search, and a driving history report, updated at least every three years and within 48 hours of a moving violation or arrest. More than three moving violations in three years, or a felony, DUI, reckless driving, or hit-and-run conviction in the past five, rules a driver out.
- **Vehicles.** An inspection every year by a certified mechanic, with the report sent to the administrator, and proof of insurance filed every year.
- **Fines.** Driving without a permit costs $150 for a first citation, $250 for a second, and $500 after that.

Outside the city, Leon County's code certifies ambulance services under chapter 8, article III, and has no wheelchair or stretcher van chapter. Statewide rules are in [Florida NEMT license rules](https://nemtguide.com/guides/florida-nemt-license/).

## Medicaid rides in Leon County

Leon is in Medicaid Region A under section 409.966 of the Florida Statutes. Because StarMetro carries no Medicaid trips, Medicaid work here runs through the brokers. Members outside a health plan book with Modivcare at 1-866-726-1457, and the [Modivcare in Florida](https://nemtguide.com/brokers/modivcare/florida/) page covers how to join that network.

Sunshine Health holds nearly two in three of the county's plan members. As of August 31, 2026:

| Plan | Leon members, main plan | Who books its rides |
|---|---|---|
| [Sunshine Health](https://nemtguide.com/health-plans/sunshine-health-florida/) | 19,705 | [Alivi](https://nemtguide.com/brokers/alivi/) |
| [Humana](https://nemtguide.com/health-plans/humana-healthy-horizons-florida/) | 6,487 | [Modivcare](https://nemtguide.com/brokers/modivcare/) |
| [Simply Healthcare](https://nemtguide.com/health-plans/simply-healthcare-florida/) | 3,888 | [Ride2MD](https://nemtguide.com/brokers/ride2md/) |
| [Florida Community Care](https://nemtguide.com/health-plans/florida-community-care/) | 736 | Ride2MD |

Those four plans hold 30,816 of Leon's 30,844 main-plan members. Long-term care adds 1,172 more, led by Humana (390), Sunshine (354), and Florida Community Care (316).

## What to do first in Leon County

1. **Call StarMetro at 850-891-5200.** Ask when the current Community Transportation Services contracts end, when the next city request for proposals is expected, and at which hours it runs short of wheelchair capacity.
2. **Watch the city's bid notices and ARPC's.** StarMetro's term as coordinator ends June 30, 2027, and the city rebids operator contracts on its own schedule.
3. **Settle the city permit question** with the vehicle for hire administrator before you carry riders inside Tallahassee.
4. **Build the file StarMetro checks.** Insurance, FDLE screening, an FTA drug and alcohol program, First Aid and CPR cards for every driver, cameras, and a Rule 14-90 inspection for every vehicle. [Subcontracting NEMT trips](https://nemtguide.com/guides/subcontract-nemt-trips/) covers how operator deals like this usually work.
5. **Go to the November 18, 2026 board meeting,** and ask ARPC about the empty private transportation industry seat.
6. **Enroll with Florida Medicaid, then apply to the brokers.** Alivi, Modivcare, and Ride2MD carry Leon's plan members, and Modivcare also carries members outside a plan.

## Frequently asked questions

### What is StarMetro Dial-A-Ride?

It is the City of Tallahassee's shared-ride service, curb to curb unless a rider asks for door-to-door help. It runs two programs: ADA paratransit for riders whose disabilities keep them off the bus, within three-quarters of a mile of a route, and the Community Transportation Coordinator Program for Leon County residents outside the bus area or hours who have no other way to travel. Every StarMetro vehicle is wheelchair accessible, and the fare is $2.50 a trip.

### How do I schedule a StarMetro Dial-A-Ride trip?

Apply first with an Application for Transportation Assistance; StarMetro decides within 21 business days. Then call 850-891-5199. Dialysis, medical, work, school, and ADA trips can be booked up to 14 days ahead and no later than 5 p.m. the day before. Other trips are booked between 3 and 5 p.m. for the next day. Same-day trips are not taken, and cancellations must come at least one hour before pickup.

### How does a transportation company get StarMetro Dial-A-Ride trips?

Through a City of Tallahassee request for proposals. StarMetro awards trips to proposers that meet the advertised criteria, on three-year contracts with two optional one-year renewals, and it guarantees no vehicles, hours, or trips. It names Big Bend Transit, Yellow Cab, and a ride-hailing company as its outside operators in 2026. Call StarMetro at 850-891-5200 to ask when the next solicitation is expected.

### What does StarMetro pay its outside operators?

Each operator's rate is set in its own contract. The state's 2024-25 operating report shows what StarMetro spent: $727,099 for 48,007 taxi trips, about $15 a trip, $66,989 for 5,694 ride-hailing trips, and $540,310 for contracted van operators. The $24.40 and $41.83 per-trip rates in the service plan are what StarMetro bills the state program.

### Does Tallahassee require a permit to run a wheelchair van service?

Possibly. Chapter 22 of the city code covers any vehicle that carries passengers for a fare, fee, or other charge in the city, and its list of exclusions names ambulances but not wheelchair or medical vans. A covered company pays an annual permit fee starting at $250 for one to five drivers, permits or certifies each driver, and has each vehicle inspected every year. Ask the city before you carry riders inside city limits.

### Who arranges Medicaid rides in Tallahassee?

The brokers, not StarMetro, which billed no trips to the Medicaid agency in 2022-23, 2023-24, or 2024-25. Leon is in Medicaid Region A. Members outside a health plan book with Modivcare at 1-866-726-1457. Plan members book through their plan's broker: Alivi for Sunshine Health, Modivcare for Humana, and Ride2MD for Simply Healthcare and Florida Community Care.

## Official resources

- [StarMetro: Dial-A-Ride](https://www.talgov.com/starmetro/dial-a-ride)
- [ARPC: Leon County Transportation Disadvantaged Service Plan](https://www.arpc.org/td-service-plans)
- [City of Tallahassee: Procurement (current solicitations and bid openings)](https://www.talgov.com/doingbusiness/b2g)
- [City of Tallahassee Code, chapter 22: vehicles for hire](https://library.municode.com/fl/tallahassee/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIICOGEOR_CH22VEHI)
- [Florida Administrative Code: Rule 41-2.006, insurance and service standards for coordinated trips](https://www.flrules.org/gateway/ruleNo.asp?id=41-2.006)
- [Modivcare: Transportation Providers, Contact Us](https://www.modivcare.com/transportation-providers-contact-us/)