Our Services & Drivers
We are always looking for good drivers to help service our area people.
Northern Access Transportation provides special transportation services for the elderly or people with disabilities. Our main focus is providing transportation to or from healthcare facilities. This service is also referred to as Non Emergency Medical Transportation. In addition, we gladly provide service to other destinations, such as workplaces, social events, family visits, etc. Most of our clients use a wheelchair to aid mobility, though we also provide service for clients who can ambulate with assistance and do not use a wheelchair. The type of service we provide is also referred to as ‘door-through-door’ or ‘driver-assisted’ transportation service. Northern Access operates 25 wheelchair accessible vehicles. We also offer cot/stretcher service for clients who require an ambulance style cot while being transported.
A typical transport would require our driver to meet our client inside their home/apartment/room, assist the client out to our vehicle and safely secure them into the vehicle, once at the destination, our driver would assist the client out of the vehicle, then escort him or her to the appropriate specific destination within a healthcare facility or office building. After confirming that they are at the correct destination, our staff would leave our dispatch phone number to assist with a return ride (if necessary).
The services we provide are regulated by the Minnesota Department of Transportation.
MNDOT Special Transportation Services (STS) regulations(link to MNDOT STS regulations) require that all of our drivers meet stringent safety and training standards. These standards include:
- Criminal Background screening
- Driver Physical qualifications meeting USDOT CFR49 standards
- STS Driver training relating to Passenger Assistance, Defensive Driving, First Aid, other issues relating to transporting vulnerable adults (20 hours total)
MNDOT staff conduct annual audits of our company to review our operations and safety records and inspect each vehicle in our fleet.
Northern Access provides additional driver training (12 -20 hours) and requires all drivers to comply with our Drug and Alcohol policy that specifies pre-employment and random testing.
Northern Access Transportation began operating in 1992 Since then, we have built an exceptional service record and have demonstrated our strong commitment to serving the special transportation needs of our area.
