Special Needs Transportation
Industry Profile Report
Dive Deep into the industry with a 25+ page industry report (pdf format) including the following chapters
Industry Overview Industry Structure, How Firms Opertate, Industry Trends, Credit Underwriting & Risks, and Industry Forecast.
Call Preparation Quarterly Insight, Call Prep Questions, Industry Terms, and Weblinks.
Financial Insights Working Capital, Capital Financing, Business Valuation, and Financial Benchmarks.
Industry Profile Excerpts
Industry Overview
The 3,500 special needs transportation providers in the US offer transport services to the infirm, elderly, or handicapped. Organizations generally receive funding from a combination of fares, government programs, Medicaid NEMT, and service contracts. The industry excludes firms that focus on school or employee bus transportation for special needs individuals or ambulance services.
Dependence On Government Funding
Special needs transportation providers often rely on multiple sources of government funding, including the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), Medicare, Medicaid, and the Veterans Health Administration.
Specialized Vehicle Requirements
Riders with special needs often require specially-equipped vehicles.
Industry size & Structure
The average special needs transportation provider employs about 23 workers, and generates $1-2 million in annual revenue.
- The special needs transportation industry consists of about 3,500 establishments that employ over 75,000 workers and generate around $5.5 billion annually.
- The top 50 organizations account for 45% of industry revenue.
- Most special needs transportation providers operate within a limited geographical market or metropolitan area and may work in conjunction with public transportation systems.
- Access Services of Los Angeles, CA is one of the largest public operators of paratransit services in the US.
Industry Forecast
Special Needs Transportation Industry Growth
Coronavirus Update
Jun 7, 2022 - Innovations Improve Service, But Staffing Issues Continue
- Officials at Denver's Regional Transportation District (RTD) continue experimenting to address transportation challenges for people with disabilities. Service innovations include grocery delivery and on-demand rides. The grocery program, which has provided over 2,000 deliveries, saves resources and staff time by reducing the number of round-trip rides to take people to the store. Pandemic-related challenges also continue, however. Demand dropped during the pandemic and 100 drivers were laid off. RTD is struggling with reliability as ridership rebounds. “Runs are getting shut down due to a lack of drivers, and that is really difficult for us and our customers,” acknowledged Paul Hamilton, senior manager of RTD’s paratransit services. He says it has been a “challenge” to meet their on-time goals during peak demand.
- The US Department of Justice appealed a late-April ruling that struck down the US government's rule requiring masks to be worn on public transportation, most notably aboard airplanes. US District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle said that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) exceeded its statutory authority and failed to properly justify its decision for imposing the mandate. The CDC had extended the mandate until May 3 just a few days before the mandate was struck down. The CDC issued a statement saying that it continues to believe that requiring masks in indoor transportation settings "remains necessary for the public health." CDC will continue to monitor public health conditions to determine whether such an order remains necessary, according to a statement from the agency. "CDC believes this is a lawful order, well within CDC's legal authority to protect public health."
- The Transportation Security Administration stopped enforcing the Biden administration's rule mandating masks on planes, trains, and other forms of public transportation, an administration official said on April 18. The move came the same day that a federal judge in Florida struck down the mandate. Local mandates may be affected by the decision. US District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) exceeded its statutory authority and failed to properly justify its decision for imposing the mandate. The CDC had extended the mandate until May 3 just a few days before the mandate was struck down. The legal decision comes as COVID-19 cases have risen in a number of states due to the spread of the BA.2 subvariant of Omicron. The CDC said that it extended the mandate to evaluate the impact of the rise in cases on severe disease and health care system capacity.
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said that cleaning once a day is usually enough to minimize the chance of coronavirus transmission in most settings. Special needs transportation firms are likely to benefit if the guidance results in lower pandemic-related cleaning costs. The CDC did identify one appropriate situation for deep cleaning: an indoor environment where a case of COVID-19 had been confirmed within the past 24 hours.
- Many legal experts agree that corporations can require COVID-19 vaccinations for employees. "Requiring a vaccine is a health and safety work rule, and employers can do that," said Dorit Reiss, a professor at the University of California Hastings College of Law. There are, however, some exceptions to a blanket requirement. A collective bargaining agreement may require negotiating with a union before mandating a vaccine. Anti-discrimination laws also provide some protections. The Americans with Disabilities Act allows workers who don't want to be vaccinated for medical reasons to request an exemption.
- Almost 25 million people in the US have travel-limiting disabilities, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- Employment of other ground transportation workers, which includes the special needs transport industry, increased 15.8% year over year in April but was down 12.7% compared to the pre-pandemic month of March 2019.
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