MATP in Crawford County, Pennsylvania: Meadville Medical Center's Program and Where Ride Companies Fit (2027)

In Crawford County, a hospital system runs Medicaid rides. Meadville Medical Center (MMC) operates the county’s Medical Assistance Transportation Program (MATP) for Crawford County Human Services, while the Crawford Area Transportation Authority (CATA) runs the shared-ride vans that anyone in the county can book. This page covers who does what, what the county spends, what CATA charges, and where a small ride company can find a way in.

Who runs MATP in Crawford County

Pennsylvania funds MATP through each county, with no statewide broker outside Philadelphia. The Pennsylvania guide covers the statewide rules, the Public Utility Commission license, and how to join a county program.

The state’s June 25, 2026 broker study lists Crawford as one of seven counties on the hybrid model, alongside its neighbor Venango County. In a hybrid county, county staff share the program with a vendor. They take part in the federal time study, so the county can claim some administrative costs, unlike a vendor-model county such as Erie.

MMC’s program works from its Terrace Street Facility, 747 Terrace Street, Meadville, at 814-333-7090 or 800-210-6226. The DHS county contact list, updated June 18, 2026, shows it open weekdays from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., with no weekend hours. MMC says the program is funded by DHS “under the auspices of Crawford County Human Services” and offers two things:

• A ride, booked with advance notice, to medical appointments in Crawford, Erie, Venango, Warren, and Mercer counties.
• Mileage reimbursement for riders who have a vehicle.

Crawford County Human Services, the county side of the contract, is at 18282 Technology Drive, Suite 101, Meadville, and answers at 814-724-8380 on weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

How the county contracts and pays for MATP

Crawford County runs MATP business through its Board of Commissioners, so the program’s money shows up in public minutes. MATP items approved at 2026 meetings include:

Meeting	What the commissioners approved
January 28, 2026	Trip reimbursement CHS-194 for the second quarter of fiscal year 2025-26, $55,772
February 25, 2026	The MATP final allocation for 2024-25, the initial allocation for 2025-26, Amendment C-1 to MMC’s 2025-26 MATP contract, and a 2024-25 MATP reconciliation for Community Health Services of $143,613.70
May 13, 2026	Invoices 197 and 198 for February and March trips, $91,159
July 22, 2026	Invoice 199 for April and May trips, $116,506
August 26, 2026	The MATP Assurance of Compliance for 2026-27, and invoice 201 for June 2026 trips, $73,757
September 23, 2026	The 2025-26 MATP cost report: $675,979 in total, at no cost to the county

Three things follow for a ride company. First, the program runs on the state fiscal year, July 1 to June 30, and each year the county signs an Assurance of Compliance, its agreement to meet the conditions for state and federal MATP funds. Second, MMC’s MATP work sits in a professional contract, the same kind of yearly agreement the county uses for its other grant-funded providers. Third, trips are paid after they happen, monthly or quarterly, as invoices the commissioners approve. See how long Medicaid takes to pay and NEMT cash flow.

CATA’s shared ride, the county’s other ride network

CATA, at 214 Pine Street in Meadville, runs door-to-door shared ride in Crawford and Venango counties. It is open to the general public, every CATA vehicle is ADA accessible, and Venango County names CATA as its own MATP provider. PennDOT’s report for fiscal year 2024-25 (July 2024 to June 2025) shows the scale for both counties together: 99,132 shared-ride trips, 23,324 of them MATP trips, 39,660 senior trips, and 56 vehicles in maximum service. CATA’s average shared-ride cost was $37.83 a trip, against an average fare of $17.70.

CATA’s brochure effective July 2026 sets these one-way fares in Crawford County. The full fare is the trip’s price before any program pays part of it, and a senior 65 or older pays the senior column because the Pennsylvania Lottery covers 85%.

Distance	Full fare	Senior pays
0 to 3 miles	$13.30	$2.00
3 to 5 miles	$15.00	$2.25
5 to 7 miles	$20.00	$3.00
7 to 10 miles	$25.00	$3.75
10 to 15 miles	$26.65	$4.00
15 to 25 miles	$33.35	$5.00
25 to 50 miles	$46.65	$7.00
50 miles or more	$75.00	$11.25

Those prices are a useful local benchmark when you set your own private-pay rates. CATA’s rules, from the same brochure:

• Riders register first, then book by 2 p.m. at least one business day ahead (ADA riders until 4:30 p.m.). Saturday and Monday trips must be booked by 2 p.m. the Friday before.
• Pickups come in a half-hour window, the driver waits up to five minutes, and a trip not canceled an hour ahead can be charged the full fare.
• The Meadville area runs Monday to Friday, 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Saturday 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with a smaller area early, late, and on Saturday. The Titusville area runs weekdays 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• Drivers help riders to the vehicle but never enter a home, and they will not lift a manual wheelchair over more than one step.

CATA also asks Meadville riders to schedule non-medical trips for after 10 a.m. on weekdays, so its vans can cover medical appointments first.

How a ride company can get Crawford County work

1. Get licensed. Paid rides need Public Utility Commission paratransit authority, which the PUC says takes three months or more. The steps are in the Pennsylvania guide.
2. Call MMC’s program. Ask at 814-333-7090 whether it uses outside carriers for trips it cannot cover itself, and what it asks of them.
3. Talk to Crawford County Human Services. Call its office at 814-724-8380 and ask for the staff member who oversees MATP. Ask how the county adds MATP providers and when it plans contracts for the next fiscal year, since the 2026-27 year began July 1, 2026.
4. Watch CATA’s vendor page. CATA had no open requests for proposals in September 2026. When it buys services, vendors accept federal clauses scaled to the contract’s value.
5. Work the trips MATP does not cover. The state’s February 13, 2026 covered services list leaves out stretcher and door-through-door service. HealthChoices members here choose among four physical health plans in the Northwest zone, including UPMC for You. See how to contract with Medicaid health plans and rural NEMT.

Riders cross county lines here often, so learn the neighbors. Erie County runs MATP through its transit authority, Mercer County through its Area Agency on Aging, and Warren County lies to the east.