Local rules in Florida
Manatee County Paratransit: MCAT Handy Bus and the Agencies That Share Its Trips
Manatee County paratransit is the MCAT Handy Bus, run from 2411 Tallevast Road by the county transit division, which is the state's transportation disadvantaged coordinator through June 30, 2031. MCAT drives every Handy Bus trip with county operators and contracts no outside carriers. Four agencies carry their own clients under coordination contracts, and Medicaid rides go through MTM Health and the plans' brokers.
- MCAT drives Handy Bus itself and has no contracted operators, so no county bid for Handy Bus trips exists today.
- Four agencies, from Meals on Wheels PLUS of Manatee to Westside Group Home, carry their own clients under coordination contracts.
- MCAT reports driver shortages but denied only 2 trips from April to June 2026, and it holds Handy Bus near 350 weekday trips.
- The 2027-2031 service plan is being written now, with a board vote on November 4, 2026, which is the time to be heard.
Manatee County NEMT at a glance
- Coordinator
- Manatee County Board of County Commissioners, through Manatee County Area Transit (MCAT), 2411 Tallevast Road, Sarasota 34243
- Current term
- July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2031, approved by the Commission for the Transportation Disadvantaged on June 11, 2026
- Handy Bus reservations
- 941-748-2317, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays. TD rides run 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday to Saturday (June 2026 plan update).
- Network type
- Partial brokerage that works as a sole source: no contracted transportation operators and four coordination contractors
- Trips in fiscal 2024-25
- 107,280, of which MCAT carried 75,130 and coordination contractors 32,150
- Rates for 2026-27
- $45.41 per ambulatory trip and $77.85 per wheelchair trip, approved by the Local Coordinating Board on June 3, 2026
- Handy Bus capacity
- About 350 trips per weekday, a limit MCAT set in December 2015
- Vehicles and drivers
- 62 vehicles (36 MCAT, 26 coordination contractors) and 74 drivers in fiscal 2024-25
- Medicaid
- Region D. MCAT stopped coordinating Medicaid rides in March 2005. Members outside a plan ride with MTM Health.
- Next service plan
- The 2027-2031 plan goes to the Local Coordinating Board on November 4, 2026 and to the state by November 30, 2026.
In Manatee County the transit agency both coordinates the paratransit and drives it. MCAT’s Handy Bus carries riders with disabilities, older adults, and low-income residents across the county with county-employed operators, and MCAT buys no trips from private carriers. The outside work that exists goes to four agencies that carry their own clients, and to the Medicaid brokers that took Medicaid rides over from the county in 2005.
Florida’s Transportation Disadvantaged (TD) program pays for rides for residents who cannot reach care, work, or food on their own, and a single community transportation coordinator runs it in each county. Medicaid enrollment and the statewide vehicle and driver rules are in the Florida guide.
Who runs paratransit in Manatee County
The Board of County Commissioners is the coordinator, and MCAT, a division of the Public Works Department, has done the daily work since 1990. The county renewed the role for five more years in 2026:
| Step | Date |
|---|---|
| County commission adopts Resolution R-26-029 asking to stay coordinator | March 3, 2026 |
| Sarasota/Manatee MPO adopts Resolution 2026-01 recommending the county | March 30, 2026 |
| Local Coordinating Board approves the 2026 agreement with the state | June 3, 2026 |
| Commission for the Transportation Disadvantaged approves | June 11, 2026 |
| New term | July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2031 |
When MCAT walked the Local Coordinating Board through the new agreement on June 3, it listed minimum coverage of $200,000 per person and $300,000 per occurrence, civil rights compliance, and driver certifications in first aid, CPR and bloodborne pathogens, and a commercial driver’s license. The Sarasota/Manatee MPO, at 5460-A 63rd Street East in Bradenton, staffs the board. Its next meeting is at 10 a.m. on November 4, 2026, at the MPO office.
How Handy Bus works for riders
- ADA riders travel within three quarters of a mile of a bus or trolley route, during bus hours.
- TD riders qualify through a disability that keeps them off the bus, household income at or below 200% of the federal poverty guidelines, or age over 60 that blocks other transportation. They ride 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday to Saturday, anywhere in the county.
- Booking. 941-748-2317, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays, at least two business days ahead for TD trips and up to two weeks out. In June 2026 MCAT told the board it was weighing a shorter limit of 3 to 5 days.
- Timing. A 30-minute pickup window, with the pickup set an hour before the appointment.
- Fares. None. MCAT has been fare-free since November 1, 2022, and the 2026 update says the policy was extended indefinitely.
Kidney dialysis patients get top priority for trips the state TD grant pays for, and non-medical TD trips run on set days only.
Does MCAT hire outside van companies
No. The 2026 update of MCAT’s service plan repeats that MCAT does not contract with any transportation operators for Handy Bus. Its operators are county employees who hold a Class A or B commercial driver’s license with a passenger endorsement, pass a Level II background screening, and are certified in CPR before they take a route.
Four agencies hold coordination contracts to carry their own clients:
| Agency | Phone | Service | Clients |
|---|---|---|---|
| Easter Seals Southwest Florida | 941-355-7637 | Ambulatory | Persons with a disability |
| Sunrise Community of Southwest Florida | 941-251-4956 | Ambulatory | Persons with a disability |
| Meals on Wheels PLUS of Manatee | 941-747-7433 | Ambulatory and wheelchair | Medical and social trips |
| Westside Group Home | 941-794-5759 | Ambulatory | Persons with a disability |
| Fiscal 2024-25 | MCAT | Coordination contractors | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trips | 75,130 | 32,150 | 107,280 |
| Vehicles | 36 | 26 | 62 |
| Wheelchair accessible vehicles | 36 | 21 | 57 |
| Drivers | 35 | 39 | 74 |
The Agency for Persons with Disabilities paid for 28,329 of those trips, the Department of Elder Affairs for 8,127, and the state TD grant for 9,902. The Medicaid agency paid for none. The state report put Manatee’s cost at $59.90 a trip.
Capacity and staffing
In December 2015 MCAT decided its buses and operators could sustain about 350 Handy Bus trips a weekday, and it still limits reservations to that level. Its own forecast said the cap may need to rise to nearly 400 a day by 2026. Fiscal 2025 ridership of 75,130 was about 30% below fiscal 2019’s 107,513, and the 2026 update says MCAT still faces driver shortages and pulls road supervisors onto routes.
Even so, MCAT told the board on June 3, 2026 that it had not had to deny or prioritize trips. From April to June 2026, Handy Bus carried 22,386 trips, up from 20,579 a year earlier, with only 2 trips denied for lack of space. It arrived on time for 94% of scheduled appointments and 86% of scheduled trips, against a 95% standard in its service plan.
What MCAT pays and checks
| Handy Bus rate per one-way trip | Ambulatory | Wheelchair |
|---|---|---|
| Fiscal 2025-26 | $45.40 | $77.83 |
| Fiscal 2026-27, approved June 3, 2026 | $45.41 | $77.85 |
| Fiscal 2026-27 without subsidy | $65.69 | $112.62 |
These are the rates the state’s trip grant pays MCAT for riders no agency sponsors. For fiscal 2026-27 the grant is $505,905, with a $56,211 local match paid from the Handy Bus budget. Trips bought under Medicaid waiver programs pay far less, from $3.88 to $12.82 each, and the plan says state law has kept those rates flat for a long time.
The plan says MCAT pays invoices within 30 days of submittal. Each coordination contractor gets a yearly on-site review in which MCAT inspects vehicles inside and out and checks driver licenses, insurance, CPR cards, Level II background checks, maintenance records, safety plans, and preventive maintenance plans. A staff member rides along to watch how drivers treat passengers, and any finding comes with 30 days to fix it. Complaints should stay at 2 or fewer per 1,000 trips. See NEMT insurance requirements for pricing a policy at the state floor or above.
Medicaid rides in Manatee County
Manatee is in Medicaid Region D. The state’s NEMT waiver for July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2027 gives Region D’s fee-for-service members to MTM Health, whose 2025 capacity analysis listed 15 vehicles in Manatee: 10 cab and 5 lift vehicles, and no stretcher van. Members book at 1-844-239-5974.
The county’s plan members spread across more plans than in the counties to the south. As of August 31, 2026:
| Plan | Manatee members | Broker for its rides |
|---|---|---|
| Sunshine Health | 17,470 | Alivi |
| Simply Healthcare | 9,834 | Ride2MD |
| Humana | 5,865 | Modivcare |
| UnitedHealthcare Community Plan | 3,836 | MTM Health, since March 1, 2026 |
| Aetna Better Health | 3,392 | Modivcare |
| Florida Community Care | 831 | Ride2MD |
Manatee had 43,402 members in Managed Medical Assistance that month. Aetna and UnitedHealthcare, which have fewer than 60 members each in Lee or Collier, have thousands here.
Rides across the county line
MCAT and Sarasota County’s Breeze transfer Handy Bus riders between counties at Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport, near the county line. Manatee also pays Sarasota County an agreed rate per trip for Breeze on-demand rides that start or end on the Manatee side of Longboat Key. For veterans, MCAT runs trips to the C.W. Bill Young VA Medical Center in Pinellas County, Monday to Friday, and its veterans’ on-demand service carried 892 trips from April to June 2026. See VA transportation contracts for how the VA buys rides.
The Sarasota County page covers Breeze and its county permit, and the Hillsborough County page covers the county to the north.
What to do first in Manatee County
- Comment on the 2027-2031 service plan. MCAT and the MPO present it to the board for a vote on November 4, 2026, and it goes to the state by November 30. Its outreach surveyed social service agencies, paratransit riders, and dialysis centers. Send written comments to the MPO before the meeting, or speak at it, and ask that your company be listed in the plan’s inventory of county transportation services.
- Call MCAT at 941-747-8621 and ask whether the new plan will allow contracted operators, given the driver shortage it reports.
- Call the four coordination contractors. Meals on Wheels PLUS of Manatee is the only one listed for wheelchair trips.
- Enroll with Florida Medicaid and apply to Alivi, Ride2MD, Modivcare, and MTM Health, the brokers for the six plans with Manatee members.
- Talk to dialysis centers and employers. From April to June 2026, work trips were Handy Bus’s largest group at 4,218, followed by medical at 4,088, and dialysis added 3,276. See NEMT facility contracts.
NEMT companies in Manatee County
Frequently asked questions
What is the phone number for Manatee County paratransit?
Handy Bus reservations are at 941-748-2317, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday. Cancellations go to 941-748-1135 before 8 a.m. or through the automated system. The MCAT office at the Tallevast Road fleet facility answers at 941-747-8621.
Does MCAT hire private companies to drive Handy Bus trips?
No. Its service plan says MCAT does not contract with any transportation operators for Handy Bus. Its outside partners are four coordination contractors that carry their own clients: Easter Seals Southwest Florida, Sunrise Community of Southwest Florida, Meals on Wheels PLUS of Manatee, and Westside Group Home.
Who qualifies for Handy Bus transportation disadvantaged service?
A Manatee resident who cannot use the MCAT bus because of a physical or mental impairment, whose household income is at or below 200% of the federal poverty guidelines, or whose age over 60 keeps them from other transportation. MCAT uses one application for ADA and TD service and answers within about two weeks.
Does the Handy Bus give Medicaid rides?
Not as a Medicaid program. The county stopped coordinating Medicaid rides in March 2005, and the state's operating report shows no trips paid by the Medicaid agency in fiscal 2024-25. Members outside a plan book through MTM Health at 1-844-239-5974, and plan members book through their plan's broker.
Is the Handy Bus free?
Yes. All MCAT services, Handy Bus included, have run without fares since November 1, 2022, and the 2026 plan update says the county extended that policy indefinitely. MCAT bills the state for each eligible trip at the approved rate instead.
What does MCAT get paid per Handy Bus trip?
For fiscal 2026-27 the state approved $45.41 per ambulatory trip and $77.85 per wheelchair trip, up from $45.40 and $77.83. Trips bought under Medicaid waiver programs pay between $3.88 and $12.82, rates the plan says have stayed the same for a long time.