Ride N Safe: Senior & Medical Transportation Services Across North and Central Texas

In this episode of the Senior Living NTX podcast, we sit down with the team from Ride N Safe Non-Emergency Transportation, a trusted provider of door-to-door senior and medical transportation throughout North and Central Texas.

If you’re a caregiver, family member, or senior living community professional looking for safe, reliable, and compassionate transportation solutions—this conversation is for you.

Ride N Safe specializes in non-emergency transport for seniors, individuals with disabilities, and those needing wheelchair, ambulatory, or stretcher-accessible rides to medical appointments, dialysis, outpatient procedures, hospital discharges, and more.

Serving counties including Ellis, Dallas, Tarrant, Rockwall, Collin, Johnson, Hill, and surrounding areas, Ride N Safe partners with senior care communities, hospitals, and families to make sure aging loved ones travel with dignity and support.

🎧 Tune in to hear:

• The types of transportation services Ride N Safe offers
• How to book rides for a senior parent, patient, or resident
• What makes Ride N Safe different from other transport providers
• Why senior living communities across Texas trust Ride N Safe

This episode is packed with insights for:

• Seniors aging in place or transitioning to senior housing
• Adult children helping their parents navigate senior care
• Social workers, discharge planners, and senior care professionals
• Senior living communities seeking dependable transportation partners

Need help with a real estate transition during aging or caregiving? Contact our SRES® Realtors for expert support: 

📍 Paul Fritz – Waxahachie & Ellis County: 469-789-6769
📍 Tara Garrison – Rockwall & Collin County: 214-356-4670

Transcript

Welcome back to Senior Living NTX.Today, my guest is Shaley Teeter.She is with Ride-N-Safe, and she's gonna tell us a little bit about the services they offer.Um, excited about this one.This is one of the services I didn't really realize existed until we got into the industry and serving the senior community.So, take it away.Tell us what you do.Well, thank you for having us.Um, I'm Shaley.I'm with Ride-N-Safe.Um, I am in charge of the digital marketing and business development side of things, so I'm very in the office and out in the community.Um, I met you through a networking event, so this is cool that we're here and finally doing this.Um, a little bit about Ride-N-Safe is that we are a non-emergent transportation system.So we will take you to your doctor's appointments.We have a lot of dialysis patients.Okay.So, um, it's very early in the morning for them, but we accommodate wheelchair, stretcher chair, bariatric up to 450 pounds, and we do a on-demand side.Okay.So, we do ambulatory too.So, if you need to go to the bank, or you need to go get your hair done, we can go and do that for you at a cheaper rate.Okay.Awesome.So, it's almost Uber for people who need this service.Yes.Okay.Yeah.So, it is easy to use because we know seniors don't necessarily want to trust Uber, and I wouldn't trust my mom- Right.in an Uber service at that age.So, we just wanna accommodate our seniors to the best that we can.So, to theAnd, and, and I want to talk about, what did you call it?The ambulatory side of it?Or it's on demand?That's what It's called on-demand.On-demand.Yes.Um, the on-demand side, I just learned about that today actually, um, I'm assuming it's the same vehicles, the same vans or transports that are for the medical, uh- Yes.the doctor's appointments, things like that, and the people are still trained to be able to assist seniors in getting there.Um, so is that how it's kinda different than- Correct.Uber, or is there anything I'm missing there?No, that's correct.We are in the market to getting some, um, Suburbans or cars so that it's less of, um, a hassle for the vans 'cause we do have that wheelchair in the vans and the stretcher chair.Gotcha.So, right now, we are using those vans.But yes, our drivers are gonna be trained.We do an in-house training with each of them for 2 weeks.Okay.So, they are first aid certified, and they know all about safety 'cause that's what we're about is- That's right.safety, customer service, and just doing the best that we can.Awesome.For those who don't know, who maybe don't know that this service exists- Mm-hmm.what is the, the, the reason they would call you, and what service would you provide to the senior to give them transportation, and what are the benefits of using a company like yours versus just having a neighbor take them?That is a good question.Um, so, a lot of seniors struggle withI mean, we've got people with no limbs.We've got people that, um, need their feet elevated in long rides.Um, basically, what we do is we contract with facilities as well, um, so like major hospitals and rehabs and nursing homes and hospice, um, companies.And basically, what we do is we're providing a safe ride for our seniors and for people's loves- loved ones.Um, you wouldn't want just your neighbor taking your mom, who, let's say, lost a leg and has all these complications or dementia.Um, you wouldn't want her in a vehicle that the person is not trained for her s- specific needs.Okay.So, for us, it's just about taking people to where they need to go safely.And with that, I mean, wheelchair and stretcher chair is just a big deal in itself.Um, a lot of people can't accommodate that in their regular vans or in their car.Um, so I think that sets us apart is that we do our in-house training.We are very knowledgeable.Cliff, our owner, has been doing this for about 20 years.Okay.And he was a paramedic before that.And he's had a lot of, um, experience in the emergent side of transportation, so he brings that knowledge into the non-emergent transportation.Awesome.Yeah.That's awesome.I love it, and the vehicle being equipped for a wheelchair and, and maybe mobility issues- Mm-hmm.that's something you don't really think about until that happens, and you need it.Um, so that is huge.Let me back up.Is this just for seniors, or anybody who may have special- Anyone.needs or healthcare, or not healthcare but mobility issues?So, anyone can use it?Anyone.that's awesome.I love that.Mm-hmm.Um, going back to the senior focus of the, the, the page, what types of, uh, appointments, or why would they need this ride?Where are they going?Where do y'all serve, and, and what does that look like while they're there?Okay.That's a good question.Um, so usually, it's they had to take a trip to the ER.Or they had a day surgery, or they've been at a rehab facility for a few weeks or a few months, and they just need to go back home.Those are situations where we will come in, or even we do a lot of transfers from hospitals to rehabs or hospitals to nursing homes or hospitals to, you know, wherever.Like, uh, VITAS has their own, um, inpatient, um, hospice care.So, we go to that facility.I mean, there's plenty of facilities that we're going to and from, and it's usually to and from a hospital or to and from-rehab facilities, nursing home facilities, stuff like that- Okay.or just from home.So the thing I immediately thought of when you started talking about that, um, was with my mom, like, some surgeries and some things where it bridges the gap between they're not gonna send an ambulance for her, right?Mm-hmm.And I'm not gonna pay for an ambulance to do that.Right.But she doesn't, you know, fit or with it's a knee surgery or something like that, they're not gonna be able to get in and out of my car very easily.Right.So it's tons of different things that I'm sure we could go on forever- Right.and all the different scenarios, but it's got the wheels turning, so I appreciateSo with this, is there anything special that y'all provide, um, that maybe other companies who are in the same industry don't provide or anything that, um, Ride-N-Save has that's really special or dear to your heart?Besides our customer service- Awesome.I think that's the biggest one, um, we do have flight companions.So for example, we had, um, this one son call us.He was like, "I got my parents an apartment here.They live in Florida.I got them settled here, but I just can't get them here."Okay.So we sent someone to the airport, got them a ride to their house, got them settled, got them taken to the air- airport, flew them all the way over here, and did hand-to-hand to the son.So I think that's really awesome that we provide that.Um- Mm-hmm.Yes, it's pricey, of course, 'cause you have to consider ticket prices and- Right.stuff like that.Um, but I think that's really special because people don't really think about that when they have their family members in other states 'cause that happens quite often.Right.Um, so we do provide that service, which is really awesome.Something else that's special that we do is- I don't wanna cut you off, but that's great- Okay.because I'm thinking about some other people I know who've had themhave to fly to the parent and then fly back with the parent to then fly back with the parent to then fly back home.So you said it may be pricey, but it's still not as pricey as 6 plane tickets.Right.You know, so, so that's awesome.Sorry, I didn't just want No, you're good 'cause it is important.I mean, you don't really think about that stuff and, you know, we have lives and, you know, I was someone that had to take care of my grandpa for a long time that wasthat had dementia.Um, and those few months that we had him at our house was really hard.And if I would have known about this service, I think we would have kept him at our house longer.But sadly, we had to take him to a nursing home.this is why I love that you're doing this because people just don't know.Absolutely.And education is key and knowledge is power.So it's awesome.I love it.And yes, same, same thing.If we would have known these services existed, you know, they can age in place longer.They can be with family longer.Mm-hmm.It can be an overall better quality of life.So- Yeah.thank you for doing it.Absolutely.Absolutely.Um, but I interrupted you.What was the other thing you were gonna talk about?So we also do out-of-state trips.So along with flight companion, something that we do is we will go anywhere you need us to, pick up a loved one, take a senior, whatever we need to do, and we'll bring them back or take them to or from, whatever we need to do.So I think that's really cool as well.That's awesome.Yeah.So, like, is there a limit timeframe or distance or any of that?Okay.Mm-hmm.I guess it would just be does it get more cost-effective to fly if, if the- Yes.senior is able to fly.They may not be able to.So that's where this, I guess, would come in- Right.to be a huge asset.Mm-hmm.That'sSo that's really cool.Um, it's just another thing that you don't think about.I mean-cross-country trips are pretty brutal on the body, and- Theywe will accommodate that,Awesome.So we also do last wishes, which is basically, you know, you're at the end of life.Okay.And, um, we had this one veteran who just wanted to see water one last time 'cause he was in the Navy.And, um, we took one of him and one of his Navy buddies to, um, a lake in DFW.I can't remember the name.I apologize.But- It's okay.Um, we just let them sit there and talk and reminisce about the old days and took 'em back to where they needed to go.And he had the happiest last days after that and died shortly after.But that's something that we like to do, is just if you have a special request, please let us know, because we wanna accommodate no matter what.Just like the flight companions and the out-of-state trips, just tell us, and we will try our best to get you taken care of.And if we don't, if we can't do that, we have a whole network of non-emergent transportation companies that we trust, that we work with, that w- have the same training as us, the same customer service, the same standards.And we will refer you to them, soThat's awesome.Yeah.I love that.I love that he got to go see the water-one more time and make that come true.So it's a lot of awesome stuff that y'all provide and a lot of solutions there.Um, my question now is, how do we pay for it?Is it insurance, private pay through some of the facilities y'all partner with?How do we go about knowing how thatIt's a good question.So what we do is we have a contracted rate for facilities.So if you choose to have a contract with us, we have a discounted rate compared to private pay.Okay.Um, where insurance comes in is kind of tricky.The big answer is no.Insurance doesn't cover it typically, um, but let's say you got in an accident and you have to do physical therapy or speech therapy or OT.We can, um, get preapproval from certain companies.I think Blue Cross is one of them, um, and Aetna, maybe.Um, there's a few that we can get preapproval from, from, and there is some in the fine print that you just have to go looking for.So- Okay.reach out to your im- insurance always and make sure that you can at least get 10 or so rides covered.Okay.So that's how we typically do things on the insurance side.It's a little more in-depth and harder to get, but it isWe do have patients that have that accommo- Okay.accommodation, soUm, but mostly, it's private pay.Okay.And what that is is we have a, a rate of is it to and from?Is it just one way?And then we do it by mileage.Okay.So that's typically how we do our rides.Um, flight companions and out-of-state trips are its own sector.Right.So we will do that by trip basis.Okay.Um, so just let us know, and we'll, we'll quote you for that.Um, contracted rates are discounted, and some facilities do p- pay for rides, but typically, they bill the client that is using the ride.Gotcha, so they kinda facilitate it, and then it comes out in the bill.They're there to get that discount for you.Gotcha.And then, you provide the payment.But we also do, um, a veteran, uh, discount.Okay.So if you are private pay, and you are a veteran, we will give you a discount for that.So- So now that we know kind of what y'all do, um, and taking into consideration flight companion and out of state is its own deal, um, what areas do y'all serve?So it would beAnd the question's gonna be, first let's answer, um, getting to and from like doctors, things like that, where they need, you know, the, the special vehicle, and then what areas do y'all serve for, like, you're saying, like, the on-demand- Mm-hmm.type trips?So we service about 24 counties and those surrounding it.Okay.And that's all over the DFW area.Okay.So, I mean, we go all the way out to Mineral Wells, down to Temple, out to Garland, up to Denton.So we cover a lot of area.So if we are available to get that ride taken care of, we will service it, soAwesome.So all of DFW, you got us covered.Yes.Okay.Well, if they've got questions or they wanna learn more, where can they find more information about Ride-N-Safe?So we do have our own website.And so it's just www.RideNSafe.com, with an N.Okay.RideNSafe- RideNSafe, yes..com.And we'll put links- Yeah.wherever you put the links and they click on in all the places.So that's available for them.They can give us a call, and you can ask for Shaylee, and I can answer any of your questions that I am able to.Um, our call center is gonna know the most, and they're gonna get you the information that you need.Well, is there anything you wanna leave us with or any last minute nuggets?Um, I will say if you are a facility and you do contract with us, we have a client portal, and we also have an app.And so private pay can use the app, and we are actually coming up with a private pay portal.So contractors will have a portal, and private pay will have a portal.And what that will do is they can track their rides, see who's the driver, look at previous rides that you've booked, look at all the prices.So it's really good for, you know, insurance, whatever billing that you're doing for taxes, stuff like that, soAwesome.Yeah.Awesome.thank you for joining us.Thank you for the information.ThankI think it's valuable.It's huge.I think it's a game-changer, uh, for a lot of people out there.So if you want to learn more, reach out to Shaylee, RideNSafe.com also.Um, and please like, share, subscribe if you found value in this video.Um, we're trying to spread this information to as many seniors and people who need it as possible.So subscribe to get all the next videos, um, and we'll see you soon.