What is multi-loading?

Multi-loading (or shared ride, group ride) is transporting more than one rider at a time on separate trips whose routes overlap, for example picking up three dialysis patients in the same neighborhood for the same clinic. Each rider's trip is billed separately at the payer's shared-ride rate, and contracts usually cap detour time so that no rider's trip is extended beyond a set limit.

Why multi-loading matters for NEMT

Multi-loading is how NEMT providers earn more than one fare per vehicle hour. Done well it can lift revenue per mile by 40 to 70 percent on standing-order routes. Done badly it produces late drop-offs and complaints. The rules to follow: only combine riders with compatible timing and level of service, never exceed the contract's ride-time limits, and use software that models the combined route before dispatch commits to it.