Mercer County, Pennsylvania MATP: The Aging Agency, MCCT Shared Ride, and Where Ride Companies Fit (2027)

Mercer County splits Medicaid rides between two public bodies. The Mercer County Area Agency on Aging manages the Medical Assistance Transportation Program (MATP), and Mercer County Community Transit (MCCT), a service of the Mercer County Regional Council of Governments, runs the shared-ride vans much of that work travels on. Knowing which one decides what is the first step for a ride company that wants MATP trips in Sharon, Hermitage, Grove City, or Greenville.

Two agencies, one program

Pennsylvania’s Department of Human Services (DHS) pays for MATP through each county, and only Philadelphia uses a broker. The Pennsylvania guide covers the statewide rules, Public Utility Commission licensing, and how county subcontracts work.

The state’s June 25, 2026 broker study puts Mercer on the county vendor model, where an outside organization runs the program and the county oversees it. Here that organization is not a transit authority but the county’s aging agency. The agency says the commissioners turned the county’s Senior Citizens Department into a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in 1976, then later engaged it to manage MATP so low-income residents of any age can reach medical care.

The money moves through the courthouse each year. For fiscal year 2025-26, the commissioners:

Date	Resolution	Action
July 3, 2025	2025-293	Accepted MATP funding from DHS’s Bureau of Managed Care Operations for July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026, amount to be set
September 18, 2025	2025-392	Accepted the award: $740,876
September 18, 2025	2025-393	Passed the $740,876 to the Area Agency on Aging as a subrecipient under the county’s existing memorandum of understanding, under a grant agreement awarded September 9, 2025

The 2025-26 award reached the commissioners in September, so watch their fall agendas for the 2026-27 award. Their office is in the Mercer County Courthouse, 125 South Diamond Street, Suite 103, Mercer, and the county posts agendas and minutes online.

The agency also receives other ride money. On July 2, 2026, the commissioners set its preliminary 2026-27 Human Services Development Fund share at up to $57,093.50 for transportation services. See Area Agency on Aging transportation for how aging money buys rides.

How MATP rides are given in Mercer County

The MATP office is at the agency’s headquarters, 133 North Pitt Street, Mercer, open weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at 724-662-6222 or 800-570-6222. After hours, 724-718-7935 takes cancellations and urgent care ride requests. The agency picks the least costly mode that fits each rider:

• A shared ride by van, taxi, or an accessible vehicle for riders with disabilities. Riders usually share the vehicle.
• Bus tickets or passes, or repayment of the fare, for riders who can use a commuter bus.
• Mileage reimbursement, plus parking and tolls, for riders who own or can use a car.

MCCT, the county’s shared-ride service

MCCT runs from 2495 Highland Road in Hermitage (724-981-6222, toll free 800-222-8797). It is a door-to-door, advance-registration service open to anyone in Mercer County, paid for by state and federal grants and by the aging agency. Its sister service, the Shenango Valley Shuttle Service, runs fixed bus routes through Sharon, Hermitage, Sharpsville, Farrell, and Wheatland.

PennDOT’s report for fiscal year 2024-25 (July 2024 to June 2025) shows MCCT’s size:

MCCT, fiscal year 2024-25	Figure
Total shared-ride trips	64,365
Seniors 65 and older	34,300
MATP trips	17,428
Other shared ride	5,533
ADA paratransit	4,034
Persons with disabilities program	3,070
Vehicles in maximum service	18
Average shared-ride cost per trip	$38.44
Average shared-ride fare	$22.05

MATP makes up about 27% of MCCT’s trips, second only to seniors. MCCT’s own rules shape what riders expect from anyone who drives them:

• Hours. Weekdays 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Shenango Valley and 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. elsewhere in the county, with 13 holidays off. ADA paratransit instead follows the Shenango Valley Shuttle’s hours, which include Saturday.
• Booking. Every one-way trip is booked by 2 p.m. on the working day before, up to a month ahead, with nothing added the same day.
• No-shows. Riders cancel at least 30 minutes before pickup. A third no-show in six months costs three months of eligibility, and each can be charged half the full fare.
• Help. Lift-equipped vehicles carry wheelchair users, drivers do not enter homes, and a wheelchair rider’s escort pays the same fare and pushes the chair door to door.
• Seniors. Riders 60 and older pay $1 a trip, with the Pennsylvania Lottery or the aging agency covering the rest.

Because MCCT’s shared ride runs weekdays only, a Saturday dialysis run or a Sunday hospital discharge falls outside its hours. See dialysis transportation and hospital discharge transportation if those are the trips you want.

How a ride company can get Mercer County work

1. Get your authority. Pennsylvania requires Public Utility Commission paratransit authority for paid rides, and the PUC plans on three months or more. The Pennsylvania guide lists what the application asks for.
2. Start with the MATP office. The agency already books vans, taxis, and accessible vehicles, so ask at 724-662-6222 how it adds a carrier, which trips go unfilled, and what insurance and driver records it wants.
3. Call the council of governments. MCCT belongs to the Mercer County Regional Council of Governments (724-981-1561). Ask whether MCCT buys any trips from outside carriers.
4. Follow the courthouse. The 2026-27 MATP award and any change to the agency’s memorandum appear on the commissioners’ agendas. Their office is at 724-662-7531.
5. Take what MATP leaves out. The state’s February 13, 2026 covered services list excludes 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.

Neighboring counties run MATP differently. Crawford County contracts with Meadville Medical Center, whose program takes riders to appointments in Mercer County, and Venango County names the Crawford Area Transportation Authority (CATA) as its MATP provider. Lawrence County borders Mercer to the south.