Delaware County MATP, Pennsylvania: The 2026 RFP and How the County Buys Rides (2027)

Delaware County’s Medical Assistance Transportation Program (MATP) is one county contract, not a broker network. The county Department of Human Services holds the state grant and pays one provider to book and drive the rides. Since March 2026 it has been choosing that provider again through a request for proposals.

Who runs MATP in Delaware County

Outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania has no Medicaid ride broker: MATP money goes to counties, or to transit agencies under DHS agreements. The Pennsylvania guide covers the statewide trip rules, licensing, and insurance.

The state’s June 25, 2026 broker study counts Delaware County among seven “county hybrid” programs, where county staff share MATP work with a vendor. The vendor here is DELGO Community Transit, which PennDOT lists as Community Transit of Delaware County. It is a private nonprofit in Eddystone, incorporated in 1983 as the Delaware County Transportation Consortium and certified by the Public Utility Commission. On the county side, the Adult and Family Services office lists MATP among the services it buys by contract.

The county’s 2026 budget book, adopted December 10, 2025, shows where the MATP money goes:

Budget line	2025/2026
MATP budget	$5,552,852
Federal share	$2,776,426 (50%)
State share	$2,776,426 (50%)
County tax dollars	$0
Contracted services	$5,523,184 (99.5%)
Riders served in 2024/2025	2,605

PennDOT’s performance report for fiscal year 2024-25 (July 2024 to June 2025) shows the size of DELGO’s shared-ride work. MATP made up 59% of it:

Measure	FY 2024-25
MATP trips	64,076
Senior (65 and older) trips	44,176
Persons with Disabilities trips	181
All shared-ride trips	108,433
Average shared-ride fare	$45.08
Average cost per trip	$88.02
Vehicles in peak service	52

The 2026 MATP request for proposals

The 2026 budget book set a goal to re-issue the request for proposals for the MATP provider. The Department of Human Services and Community Support released RFP HS-000022 AFS on March 12, 2026. It seeks one provider to coordinate the county’s MATP rides under the state MATP rules, 55 Pa. Code Chapter 2070, the county’s grant agreement with DHS, and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

On May 4, 2026, before the first proposals came due, the county reissued the RFP as a “Hybrid/Vendor Model” request, so bidders could offer either setup. In the state’s terms, a vendor runs the whole program, while in a hybrid county staff keep part of the work.

Step	Date
First RFP released	March 12, 2026
RFP reissued as a hybrid or vendor model	May 4, 2026
First posting closed (deadline moved from April 10 on April 9)	May 8, 2026, 9:00 a.m.
Questions on the reissue due, through PennBid	May 22, 2026, 9:00 a.m.
Reissue proposals due	May 29, 2026, 9:00 a.m.
Proposal review (planned)	June 1 to 5, 2026
Award	After a County Council vote

On PennBid, the first posting, which closed May 8, is now titled “Reject and Rebid Medical Assistance Transportation Program,” and the reissue closed May 29, 2026. No MATP award appeared on County Council agendas through the September 16, 2026 meeting. That meeting’s consent agenda did carry the state’s MATP conditions of funding for fiscal year 2026/2027, paid half by federal and half by state Medicaid money.

What the RFP asks of the provider

The reissue keeps the first version’s requirements:

• Two uploads. An original on letterhead, and a copy with everything that identifies the company removed. Each holds a technical proposal, a cost proposal on the county’s cost report format, and a signed transmittal letter.
• Proof of capacity. Three corporate references, financial statements for the past three fiscal years, and résumés for a program manager, transportation manager, special needs coordinator, operations manager, and customer support manager.
• A work plan. It covers the call center, the paratransit network, driver clearances, vehicle standards and inspections, training, timely payment of transportation providers, no-show reduction, complaints, fraud controls, and a turnover plan.
• A cost proposal for running the program only. The county’s May 2026 answers say transportation costs are set after the award, in talks with the county and the state MATP administrators.

The county need not pick the lowest price and may negotiate a best and final offer. Bidders may not contact county staff or officials about the RFP until County Council makes the award, and questions go only through PennBid’s Clarifications feature. The contract carries DHS appendices on insurance, audits, invoicing, a HIPAA business associate agreement, federal awards, the Child Protective Services Law, and the medical marijuana prohibition.

The county ran the same kind of search in 2024: RFP HS-000014 AFS, for a hybrid model, came out March 7, 2024, and closed on PennBid on April 11, 2024. For how public ride proposals are scored, see how to answer a NEMT broker RFP and government NEMT contracts.

How a small ride company gets Delaware County MATP trips

The prime contract covers the whole program, from the call center to the monthly reports, so it suits a transit agency or a large operator. A company with a few vans fits into the provider’s paratransit network, which the RFP requires the provider to recruit, set standards for, inspect, and pay on time. DELGO’s own rider rules already refer to “Community Transit’s or its subcontractor’s vehicles.”

1. Hold PUC paratransit authority. Every paid ride in Pennsylvania needs it, and the state guide walks through the application.
2. Register on PennBid. Delaware County posts its RFPs there at no cost, and PennBid’s support line is 610-693-4769. Central Purchasing, 610-891-4425, answers questions about registering with the county.
3. Call DELGO. Ask its main office, 610-490-3977, whether it subcontracts MATP trips and what it requires of subcontractors.
4. Watch the County Council agendas. They are posted on the county’s CivicClerk portal. Before the vote, the county also posts the chosen contractor’s political contribution disclosure form, which tells you who to call about its network.
5. Prepare your disclosure. Under the county’s pay-to-play rules, a subcontractor expected to earn $50,000 or more on a covered contract counts as a contractor. The form lists political contributions from the past 24 months to county, judicial, state legislative, and statewide candidates by the company, its officers and directors, owners of 5% or more, and their spouses.

Contracts longer than a year need an updated disclosure by January 30 each year, and a missing or materially inaccurate form can bring a ban of up to three years. See how to subcontract NEMT trips for what to settle in writing.

How DELGO runs MATP rides

A subcontractor works to DELGO’s posted rules, current as of September 2026:

• Booking. Riders call 610-490-3960 weekdays from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., by noon the day before and up to two weeks ahead.
• Service hours. Monday through Saturday from 4 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Sunday from 4 a.m. to 1 p.m. Urgent care rides can be requested at any hour once a nurse, physician, or psychiatrist confirms the need.
• Out-of-county shuttles. Since February 1, 2010, paratransit trips to Bryn Mawr, Lankenau, and Philadelphia run at set shuttle times, and a rider may wait up to 2.5 hours for the ride home.
• One-hour rule waiver. DHS waived the one-hour rule for DELGO’s out-of-county grouped trips, indefinitely, from October 26, 2023. The waiver holds only if DELGO can arrange other transportation for riders with a verified need, so those riders are worth asking about.
• Cancellations. Riders cancel at least two hours before pickup. Later cancellations and riders missing at the pickup site count as no-shows, unless a medical emergency is documented.
• Curb to curb. Drivers never enter a home or a medical facility’s vestibule, and door-to-door service needs a written note from the medical provider.
• Child seats. Children under 4 ride in a car seat and children under 8 in a car seat or booster, which the parent supplies.
• Destinations. Health plan members may go to network providers in Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia counties.

Other ride work in Delaware County

• Stretcher trips. MATP does not cover stretcher service, per the DHS list dated February 13, 2026. DELGO may instead refer a HealthChoices member who needs a stretcher or non-emergency ambulance ride to the member’s plan. The Southeast zone plans are Geisinger Health Plan, Jefferson Health Plans EverWell, Keystone First, UnitedHealthcare Community Plan, and UPMC for You. See Keystone First and UPMC for You.
• Seniors and SEPTA paratransit. DELGO coordinates the Senior Shared-Ride Program in the county, where riders 65 and older pay 15% of the fare. It is also SEPTA’s subcontractor for Customized Community Transportation in Delaware County. See ADA paratransit contracts.
• Next door. Chester County drives its MATP rides with county staff, Montgomery County contracts a transit vendor, and Philadelphia uses Modivcare as its broker.

What to do first

1. Call DELGO at 610-490-3977 and ask about subcontract MATP work, especially out-of-county and wheelchair trips.
2. Register on PennBid and follow the Department of Human Services of the County of Delaware.
3. Check each County Council agenda for the MATP award, starting with the October 7, 2026 meeting.
4. File for PUC paratransit authority if you do not hold it yet.
5. Have your file ready: references, three years of financial statements, insurance certificates, and a draft political contribution disclosure for whoever runs the program next.