Almost nobody in this industry publishes prices. You call, you describe your mother's situation to a stranger, and then you get a number you have no way to judge.

Here are ours.

Our rates

Every rate below covers the first five miles. After that it is $2 per additional mile .

• Wheelchair transportation: $115 base pickup, each way. The person stays in their chair, the chair is secured properly in the vehicle, and trained people handle the loading at both ends.
• Ambulatory, round trip booked: $55 each way. For someone who can walk and get into a vehicle with a hand. Booking both legs at once is what earns this rate.
• Ambulatory, one way with staff sign out: $88. This is the trip after a procedure, where our aide comes into the building, is identified as your responsible adult, receives the discharge instructions, and takes you home.

What that looks like on real trips

Distances below are approximate and your actual address will shift them. The arithmetic is the point.

A short local run, wheelchair

Winchester to Winchester Hospital, or Melrose to MelroseWakefield, or Woburn out to Lahey in Burlington. All of those sit at or inside five miles, so there is no mileage on top. That is $115 each way, $230 for the round trip. Most of our Middlesex County work looks like this.

Into Boston, wheelchair

Say roughly twelve miles from Stoneham down to Mass General or Dana-Farber. Five miles are in the base, leaving seven at $2, so $14 on top. That is $129 each way, $258 round trip. Run the same sum for your own address: subtract five from the miles, multiply by two, add it to the base.

A course of physical therapy, ambulatory

Someone walking with a cane, going to outpatient PT about eight miles away, twice a week. Eight miles means three extra at $2, so $6 on top of $55, which is $61 each way and $122 for the day. This is exactly the situation where you should check for a Medicare Advantage transportation benefit first, because a lot of plans cover 36 one way trips a year at no cost and PT is what those trips were designed for.

Coming home from a colonoscopy

$88 for a local trip, and this is the one people call about most. The facility will not discharge a sedated patient to a rideshare or a taxi. They want a named adult who comes in and takes responsibility. Confirm with your facility what it accepts before the day, and we will confirm it with them too.

Why ambulatory round trip is cheaper than one way

People notice that $55 each way is less than $88 one way and assume it is a mistake. It is not.

A booked round trip is a known quantity. We know where the vehicle is at both ends of the day and we can schedule around it. A one way is a vehicle and a person committed to a single leg, and the $88 version also involves our aide going into the building and being your responsible adult, which is a different job from driving. You are not just buying a ride there, you are buying someone who signs for you.

If your appointment has a known end time, book the round trip. It is cheaper and you will not be sitting in a lobby.

Why the wheelchair rate is higher



A wheelchair accessible vehicle costs considerably more to buy, convert, insure and maintain than a car. The trip itself also takes longer at both ends, because securing a chair properly with a four point tie down and a separate occupant restraint is not something you rush.

And it is skilled work. The most common injuries in this whole category happen when an untrained person tries to move a chair and its occupant, or secures the chair by its armrests or footplates, which detach by design on most modern wheelchairs. You are paying for the equipment and for people who know that.

Three things that change the quote

Mention these when you call, because they change the plan rather than getting discovered in your hallway.



• Stairs. Getting someone down a flight of stairs, or a wheelchair down a granite stoop, is a separate job that needs two trained people and often a stair chair. It is not part of a transport rate anywhere in this industry. Tell us how many steps and whether there is a rail, and we will tell you what it involves before you commit to anything.
• Somebody staying through the appointment. If you need an aide to sit through a three hour infusion, hear what the doctor says and report back, that is our aftercare service and it is billed hourly. There are no fixed hour packages, so you pay for the time you actually use.
• An unpredictable finish. Dialysis and oncology do not end when the schedule says. Tell us that up front so we plan for it rather than having a vehicle idle or a person waiting.

Try these before you pay us anything

We would rather tell you this on a web page than take money from someone who had a free option and did not know it. Work through this list first.

• Your Medicare Advantage plan. Call the number on the back of the card and ask whether it includes a transportation benefit. A large share of plans do, often 36 one way trips a year at no copay, and most members have no idea.
• MassHealth PT-1. If there is MassHealth, ask the doctor's office to file a PT-1 at the next visit. You cannot file it yourself. It covers rides to medical appointments and it costs you nothing. MassHealth is at (800) 841-2900.
• Your town's senior van. Nearly every Massachusetts town runs one, usually free or a couple of dollars for residents 60 and over. Ask how much notice they need, how far out of town they go, and whether the van takes a wheelchair.
• The RIDE. The MBTA's paratransit service covers 58 municipalities. With a reduced fare card a standard one way trip is $1.70. Apply before you need it.
• New local shuttles. Reading, Wakefield, Burlington and Woburn gained a free door to door on demand service in August 2026 that runs to Lahey and Winchester Hospital at no cost to any rider. Ask your town whether something similar started recently.

Where we earn our rate is the situations none of those cover. Short notice, because every program above wants days of warning. Anyone under 60, who most senior programs exclude. Appointments outside a van's narrow hours. Trips into Boston, which most town vans will not make. Stairs at the door. And anyone who needs a person rather than a ride.

Getting an exact number

Tell us four things and we will quote you on the call. The pickup address and the destination. Whether the person uses a wheelchair or can walk with help. Whether you need one way or round trip. And how many steps there are at the door.

Care Remedy provides wheelchair transportation, stair assistance and home care across eastern and central Massachusetts, from offices in Woburn, Springfield and Brockton. Call 781-957-8076.

Rates shown are current as of publication and cover the first five miles, with $2 per additional mile. Long distance trips, wait time, stair assistance and appointments requiring an aide to stay are quoted separately. Rates are subject to change. Coverage rules for Medicare, MassHealth and municipal programs change too; confirm current details with your plan or your town.