# Onondaga County Medicaid Transportation: Syracuse Cab Licenses and the State's Top Stretcher Rate

Canonical URL: https://nemtguide.com/states/new-york/onondaga-county/ · Updated 2026-10-06

In Onondaga County, Medical Answering Services (MAS) books Medicaid rides on its upstate line, 866-932-7740, and the county's rows of the state fee schedule set the default pay. A cab working in Syracuse needs a $300 city license for each car and a $50 license for each driver. A stretcher trip pays a $280 base, the highest county base rate in New York on the April 5, 2026 schedule.

- Onondaga County pays $280 for a stretcher trip, $50 more than the next highest county base rate in New York.
- Every cab that picks up or drops off in Syracuse needs a $300 city license, and the city caps those licenses at 200.
- Syracuse cab drivers need a $50 city license, a medical form under three years old, fingerprints, and a city orientation course.
- Onondaga County Medicaid taxi trips pay $3.01 plus $3.40 a loaded mile on the April 5, 2026 fee schedule.
- A cab with no airport agreement may drop riders at Syracuse Hancock and make pre-arranged pickups, but may not wait for walk-up fares.

## Onondaga County NEMT at a glance

| Fact | Details |
| --- | --- |
| Who books Medicaid rides | MAS, on its upstate line, 866-932-7740 |
| Syracuse cab license | $300 a car per year, July 1 to June 30, cut by $25 for each month already passed on a new license |
| Cab license limit | No more than 200 city cab licenses, plus any needed for airport agreements, given out from an eligibility list |
| Syracuse driver license | $50 a year ($75 after a lapse), with a Class E license, a medical form under 3 years old, fingerprints, and a city course |
| City inspections | Police inspect each licensed cab and seal its meter before licensing, then inspect both at least every six months |
| Taxi rate | $3.01 a trip (A0100) plus $3.40 a loaded mile (S0215), effective December 31, 2022, on the April 5, 2026 schedule |
| Wheelchair rate | $40.00 a trip (A0130) plus $3.75 a mile (S0209), both effective June 21, 2024 |
| Stretcher rate | $280.00 a trip (T2005), effective June 21, 2024, with no separate stretcher mileage row for the county |
| Medicaid enrollment | Upstate taxi (category 0603) or ambulette (0602), with a MAS letter of support and the $750 fee listed in May 2026 |

## Who arranges rides here

- [MAS Upstate Contact Center](https://wp2.medanswering.com/contact-center/): Books Medicaid rides for Onondaga County members. (866) 932-7740
- [MAS Transportation Provider Relations](https://wp2.medanswering.com/transportation-provider-relations-team/): Handles ride companies, including the letter of support Medicaid enrollment needs. (866) 242-2578
- [City of Syracuse Central Permit Office](https://www.syr.gov/Departments/Central-Permit-Office/Business-Licenses): Takes paper applications for cab (ground transportation) and taxi driver licenses. (315) 448-8474
- [Syracuse Regional Airport Authority, Ground Transportation and Parking Office](https://syrairport.org/groundtransportation/): Issues the Ground Transportation Permit for taxis and other commercial vehicles at Syracuse Hancock. (315) 455-3550
- [eMedNY Call Center](https://www.emedny.org/info/providerenrollment/transportation/Option2.aspx): Answers questions about Medicaid enrollment for ride companies. (800) 343-9000

Two things set Medicaid ride work in Onondaga County apart. The City of Syracuse licenses every cab and cab driver that works inside its limits, under a chapter that caps the number of cars. And the county's rows on the state fee schedule carry the highest stretcher base rate in New York.

Statewide, MAS arranges Medicaid rides for every upstate county, and eMedNY rejects any new ride company application filed after April 15, 2024 without a MAS letter of support. The state's transportation manual (effective August 25, 2023) adds that enrolling in Medicaid never excuses a company from local licensing; the [New York guide](https://nemtguide.com/states/new-york/) and the [MAS provider page](https://nemtguide.com/brokers/medical-answering-services/) walk through enrollment.

## Who books Medicaid rides in Onondaga County

Members call the MAS upstate line, 866-932-7740, which MAS's contact center page lists for Onondaga County. Onondaga moved early: a MAS notice dated February 17, 2012 put the rides of the county's Medicaid health plan members under MAS prior authorization from March 1, 2012, more than three years before the statewide move of health plan rides to the state's broker began on December 1, 2015. Since then, plan members and fee-for-service members in the county have booked through the same office, and MAS gives each trip to the company the rider names, then to the one the rider's practitioner names, and otherwise by rotation.

## Syracuse taxi and for-hire licenses

Chapter 25 of the Syracuse code governs taxicabs, airport buses, and contract carriers that load or drop off passengers in the city. It defines a taxicab as a vehicle with a taximeter, seating no more than eight passengers besides the driver, that carries riders for pay from point to point rather than on a fixed route. Section 25-74 requires the meter on every trip that starts or ends in the city. It makes no exception for Medicaid trips, even though MAS pays the schedule rate rather than the meter.

### The vehicle license and its limit

Each cab needs a ground transportation license, issued by the commissioner of licenses once the police chief approves the application. The fee is $300 per vehicle for each year from July 1 to June 30. A new license issued after July is cut by $25 for each month already passed, so a license issued in August costs $275. Renewals carry no discount.

Section 25-6 caps the city at 200 of these licenses, plus any needed for written airport agreements. Applicants the chief finds qualified go onto an eligibility list in the order approved, and new licenses above the cap come only after a public hearing by the chief and a vote of the Common Council certifying how many to add. Watch the renewal date: file at least 10 days before your license expires, because a renewal more than 10 days late costs $2 a day, and one more than 20 days late is forfeited to the next person on the list.

The application, Form TA 107 (revised April 2015), is sworn before a notary or commissioner of deeds. It asks for:

1. **The vehicle's New York registration and title.**
2. **Proof of for-hire insurance** on that vehicle.
3. **Certified copies of your partnership, corporation, or association certificates,** listing every officer, director, and stockholder.
4. **Your assumed name (DBA) certificate,** if you use one.
5. **Answers about past license suspensions and criminal convictions** of everyone with an interest in the business, which the city weighs under Article 23-A of the state Correction Law.

### Inspections and the meter

Police inspect each vehicle and test its taximeter before the license issues, then seal the meter. Both are inspected again at least every six months, and a cab not brought in within seven days of its inspection date can be ordered off the road. The meter may run no more than 3% off on distance and 5% off on time. Vehicle age alone never bars a license, but the cab needs four doors, two of them into the passenger area, a roof light, amber distress lights, and the owner's full name, the license number, and the word "Taxi" on both front doors in letters at least 2.5 inches high.

### The driver license

Every cab driver needs a city taxicab driver license, $50 a year and not refundable. A driver who lets it lapse pays $75 to apply again. The application, Form TA 106, needs:

- **A New York driver license of Class E or higher.** See the [New York Class E guide](https://nemtguide.com/guides/new-york-class-e-license/).
- **Age 18 or older.**
- **The city's medical certification form,** signed and stamped by a physician within the last three years.
- **Two 2 by 2 inch color photos.**
- **A fingerprint receipt** for a state criminal history report, taken by appointment under the Syracuse Police identifier NY0330100.
- **A city-approved taxi driver orientation course.**

The code bars a driver found responsible for more than two crashes in three years. It also bars one convicted of a misdemeanor in the past year or a felony in the past five years (vehicle offenses aside), or of a vehicle crime such as drunk or impaired driving in the past ten years, when the offense bears on fitness to drive the public or poses an unreasonable risk. Applications for both licenses are on paper only. File them in person or by mail at the Central Permit Office, 300 South State Street, first floor, 315-448-8474.

### Wheelchair and stretcher vans

Chapter 25 also covers contract carriers: companies that carry passengers for pay but are neither taxi services nor bus lines under the state Transportation Law. A contract carrier needs no cab or driver license. Instead, section 25-88 asks it to get a permit from the police chief before loading passengers in the city, after filing proof that it meets state rules along with its state permits, such as the NYSDOT authority that Medicaid ambulette enrollment requires. The city's 2025 licensing guide lists no such permit, so ask the Central Permit Office in writing whether your wheelchair and stretcher vans need one.

Outside the city, Chapter 25 does not apply. Before you start regular pickups in a town or village, ask its clerk whether it licenses vehicles for hire.

## Syracuse Hancock airport

Two sets of rules apply when a trip starts or ends at the airport. Section 25-28 lets a city-licensed driver load passengers there only under a written agreement with the city or by prearrangement with the rider. The airport authority's ground transportation policy (July 2025) likewise limits taxis without an authority agreement to drop-offs and pre-arranged pickups, made in the Arrivals area with a waybill for each rider shown on the dashboard. Only taxis under an authority agreement may use the staging area for walk-up riders.

The authority's ground transportation page also says every commercial operator, taxis included, needs its Ground Transportation Permit before working at the airport. The permit comes with a vehicle inspection, a sealed meter, and possibly a safety class within three months. Call the Ground Transportation and Parking Office, 315-455-3550, before you plan airport pickups.

## What Onondaga County Medicaid trips pay

On the eMedNY fee schedule dated April 5, 2026, an Onondaga County taxi trip pays $3.01 plus $3.40 a loaded mile, a wheelchair van trip pays $40.00 plus $3.75 a mile, and a stretcher trip pays $280.00.

| Code | Service | Onondaga rate | Effective |
|---|---|---|---|
| [A0100](https://nemtguide.com/glossary/a0100/) | Taxi trip | $3.01 | Dec. 31, 2022 |
| [S0215](https://nemtguide.com/glossary/s0215/) | Taxi mileage | $3.40 a mile | Dec. 31, 2022 |
| [A0130](https://nemtguide.com/glossary/a0130/) | Wheelchair van trip | $40.00 | June 21, 2024 |
| [S0209](https://nemtguide.com/glossary/s0209/) | Wheelchair van mileage | $3.75 a mile | June 21, 2024 |
| [T2005](https://nemtguide.com/glossary/t2005/) | Stretcher van trip | $280.00 | June 21, 2024 |

At those rates, an 8-mile taxi trip pays $30.21 and an 8-mile wheelchair trip pays $70.00. The taxi base is low and the mileage high, so short cab runs inside Syracuse earn little and longer suburban runs earn more. The schedule is a default: MAS can negotiate a rate with your company, and the negotiated rate wins. The [New York fee schedule guide](https://nemtguide.com/guides/new-york-medicaid-transportation-fee-schedule/) compares every county.

## Stretcher work in Onondaga County

The $280.00 stretcher base is the top county base rate in the state. The next highest is $230.00, in New York City and in Nassau, Suffolk, and Montgomery counties, and Erie County pays $101.00 plus mileage. Onondaga's rows list no separate stretcher mileage code ([T2049](https://nemtguide.com/glossary/t2049/)), so on the schedule the $280.00 base covers the trip whatever its length. Ask MAS how it pays stretcher miles before you quote long runs.

[Stretcher van](https://nemtguide.com/glossary/stretcher-van/) trips fall under the ambulette category (0602), which needs a NYSDOT common carrier certificate or contract carrier permit and a DMV letter of compliance with [Article 19-A](https://nemtguide.com/guides/new-york-article-19-a/). The state manual requires at least two employees on every stretcher trip and bars riders who are sedated or need medical monitoring; the [ambulette business guide](https://nemtguide.com/guides/ambulette-business/) covers the vans and staff.

One local rule needs a written answer before you start. Syracuse's 1967 ambulance chapter defines an ambulance as any privately owned vehicle equipped or used for transporting the injured or sick. It licenses only vehicles built as ambulances, at $25 each, and requires an office and garage within half a mile of South Salina and Genesee streets and a second attendant on every call. Ask the Central Permit Office in writing whether the city treats a stretcher van that works in Syracuse as an ambulance.

## How to start Medicaid rides in Onondaga County

1. **Choose your level.** Cabs enroll as upstate taxi (category 0603); wheelchair and stretcher vans enroll as ambulettes (0602).
2. **For cabs, license each driver with Syracuse,** then ask the Central Permit Office whether a vehicle license is open or whether you go on the eligibility list.
3. **Register each car with livery plates, title it, and insure it for hire,** then book the police meter and vehicle inspection. Medicaid expects an upstate taxi company to keep records of those plates and of each driver's Class E license.
4. **For ambulettes, get your NYSDOT authority and Article 19-A letter,** and put your questions about the contract carrier permit and the ambulance chapter to the city in writing.
5. **Ask town or village clerks** about local for-hire rules wherever you plan regular pickups outside the city.
6. **Request a MAS letter of support,** then enroll through eMedNY with the $750 application fee.
7. **Put your dates on a calendar:** Syracuse vehicle licenses expire June 30, driver licenses one year from issue, and meter and vehicle inspections come every six months.

## Frequently asked questions

### Who books Medicaid rides in Onondaga County?

Medical Answering Services (MAS). Its contact center page lists Onondaga under the upstate line, 866-932-7740. Members on fee-for-service Medicaid and members of a mainstream Medicaid health plan book the same way, because MAS has prior authorized rides for the county's health plan members since March 1, 2012. MAS then assigns each trip to an enrolled company.

### Do I need a Syracuse license to run Medicaid cab trips?

Yes, if your cabs load or drop off riders inside the city. Chapter 25 of the Syracuse code requires a ground transportation license for every taxicab operated in the city and a taxicab driver license for every driver. New York Medicaid also requires enrolled taxi companies to meet every local licensing rule, and breaking one can end your Medicaid enrollment.

### How much does a Syracuse cab license cost?

The city's 2025 licensing guide lists $300 a year for each vehicle's ground transportation license, which expires June 30, and $50 a year for a taxi driver license. Chapter 25 cuts a new vehicle license by $25 for each month after July. A driver who lets a license lapse pays $75 to apply again. Applications are on paper only, filed at the Central Permit Office, 300 South State Street.

### What does Medicaid pay for a stretcher trip in Onondaga County?

The eMedNY fee schedule dated April 5, 2026 lists $280.00 for a stretcher trip (T2005) in Onondaga County, effective June 21, 2024. That is the highest county base rate in the state; the next highest is $230.00. The county rows list no separate stretcher mileage code. MAS can negotiate a different rate with your company, and a negotiated rate takes the place of the schedule.

### Can my cab pick up Medicaid riders at Syracuse Hancock airport?

Yes, if the ride is pre-arranged. The Syracuse code lets city-licensed vehicles load at the airport only under a written city agreement or by prearrangement with the rider. The airport authority's 2025 policy limits taxis without an authority agreement to drop-offs and pre-arranged pickups, with a waybill for each rider on the dashboard. Its ground transportation page says every commercial operator, taxis included, needs its Ground Transportation Permit, and only taxis under an authority agreement may wait in the staging area for walk-up fares.

### Does Onondaga County require a taxi and limousine commission base?

No. The eMedNY enrollment chart for upstate taxi companies (category 0603) asks for a TLC base only in Westchester and Nassau counties, with a New York City livery license accepted in place of the Nassau decal. In Onondaga County, the local licenses that matter are the City of Syracuse cab and driver licenses, plus any rules of the towns where you work.

## Official resources

- [Syracuse: Ground transportation license application (Form TA 107)](https://www.syr.gov/files/sharedassets/public/v/1/departments/permits/documents/2020groundtransportationlicenseapplication042015.pdf)
- [Syracuse: Taxi driver license application (Form TA 106)](https://www.syr.gov/files/sharedassets/public/v/1/departments/permits/documents/2020taxidriverslicenseapplication.pdf)
- [Syracuse: Taxi driver medical certification form (TA 106a)](https://www.syr.gov/files/sharedassets/public/v/1/departments/permits/documents/2020taxidriversmedicalcertificationform032014.pdf)
- [Syracuse Code, Chapter 25, Taxicabs](https://library.municode.com/ny/syracuse/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=REGEOR_CH25TA)
- [Syracuse Hancock: Commercial ground transportation](https://syrairport.org/groundtransportation/)
- [MAS: Become a transportation provider](https://wp2.medanswering.com/transportation-providers/become-a-provider/)
- [eMedNY: Medicaid transportation fee schedule](https://www.emedny.org/ProviderManuals/Transportation/PDFS/Transportation_Fee_Schedule.xls)