Wheelchair Transportation in Silver Spring, MD

How a wheelchair ride works from Riderwood or a downtown high-rise

At Riderwood or in one of the apartment towers near the Metro, the driver comes in rather than waiting at the curb: past the front desk or through the garage, up to the apartment, and back down with the rider. The rider never transfers out of the wheelchair. It goes up a minivan ramp or onto a full-size van’s lift, is locked down at four points, and the rider wears a lap and shoulder belt for the ride.

Power chairs, manual chairs and scooters are all secured, and if the rider’s chair won’t do for the trip we bring one free. A family member or aide can come along at no charge, and so can a service animal.

At Holy Cross or White Oak the driver walks the rider in to the desk or the unit, and at DaVita Silver Spring, all the way to the chair. Each driver holds CPR and first-aid certification, is trained to secure manual and power chairs, and has passed a criminal background check and drug screening. Our drivers take their vans home and live across the service area, Montgomery County included, so a Silver Spring pickup rarely starts far away, even though dispatch sits in Gainesville. H&M Transport was the first NEMT provider in Virginia to be accredited by NEMTAC, which audits training, securement and vehicles.

Hospitals Silver Spring riders use

Holy Cross Hospital on Forest Glen Road is the main hospital for central Silver Spring and a frequent stop for our riders. Parking there is paid, so a door-to-door drop-off saves families both the fee and the walk. Adventist HealthCare White Oak Medical Center on Healing Way serves the eastern side; it opened in 2019, replacing Washington Adventist Hospital in Takoma Park, and some families still give us the old address, so we confirm.

Further out, we drive riders to Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center in Rockville, which has a patient drop-off circle at the main entrance and a separate one in front of the Horizon Tower, and across the line to hospitals and specialists in Washington DC.

We also run a steady schedule for residents of Riderwood on Gracefield Road, a large senior community with its own on-site medical center and front desk.

Dialysis rides in Silver Spring

We run standing dialysis schedules for Silver Spring riders, including to:

• DaVita Silver Spring Dialysis, 8040 Georgia Ave
• DaVita Briggs Chaney Dialysis, 13875 Outlet Dr

Chair times go on a standing order once and repeat every week. If a session at DaVita Briggs Chaney runs over, the ride home becomes a will-call: a driver is at the center within 45 minutes of your call, and the earlier you call, the shorter the wait.

Wheelchair transportation prices in Silver Spring

Silver Spring fares come straight off our 2026 private-pay card, the same card we use in DC and Virginia: a pick-up fee, then mileage.

Downtown Silver Spring to Holy Cross Hospital is about two and a half miles, well inside the five included on each leg, so the round trip is $110. From Takoma Park it is about four miles, also $110 round trip, and a discharge home from Holy Cross to Takoma Park is $90 plus $12, or $102. Shady Grove Medical Center in Rockville is about 15 miles each way: $55 plus ten miles at $3.00, so $85 a leg and $170 round trip.

Add-ons are named before you book: $75 each way for a stair chair team at a house with front steps; $30 before 7am or after 6pm; $75 an hour for a driver who waits; $20 for a stop such as the pharmacy; $35 for each 2-liter oxygen tank, or nothing if the rider brings a portable. We take cash or card (cards add 3%) but not personal checks, and an itemized receipt is available on request. The rates page has the full card.

Wheelchair van or MetroAccess and Call-n-Ride?

Montgomery County residents have strong public options. MetroAccess serves Silver Spring for trips near Metro and bus routes; it requires an application and an in-person interview, trips are booked in advance with no same-day service, rides are shared, and the pickup comes within a 30-minute window. MetroAccess customers may also have trips moved to Abilities-Ride for a flat fare, curb-to-curb.

The county’s Call-n-Ride program subsidizes taxi rides for lower-income older adults and adults with disabilities, with trips generally beginning and ending in Montgomery County. And since June 2025, Ride On buses are free for everyone, and every bus is wheelchair accessible, though it is fixed-route service rather than door-to-door.

The van makes sense when a program won’t stretch to the trip: a same-day ride or a discharge from Holy Cross, a rider who needs help from inside the apartment, a fixed appointment time, a trip into DC or Virginia, or a rider who isn’t certified for any program.

Pickup tips for Silver Spring homes and buildings

• Downtown high-rises near the Silver Spring Metro usually have a garage or loading entrance that suits a van better than the front door on a busy street. Give us the entrance and unit number.
• Older houses in Woodside, Four Corners and Takoma Park often have steps up from the sidewalk. Tell us the count; a stair chair team is routine when we know ahead.
• Riderwood and other senior campuses have several buildings and a front desk. Tell us the building and the pickup point.
• The Beltway and Colesville Road are slow at rush hour. We build that into the pickup time.

Who covers a Silver Spring wheelchair ride

Medicaid in Maryland and DC. We are not a Maryland Medicaid provider, so Medicaid-covered rides in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties are arranged elsewhere: in Montgomery County, through the county Department of Transportation’s Medical Assistance Transportation Program, or the number on the member’s ID card. In DC, the only Medicaid plan we serve is UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of the District of Columbia, through SafeRide Health.

Medicare and other plans. Original Medicare doesn’t pay for a wheelchair van; it covers an ambulance only when one is medically necessary. Some Medicare Advantage plans include a set number of rides a year, and wherever a health plan’s ride benefit is run by SafeRide Health, in Maryland, DC or Virginia, you can book through the plan and request H&M Transport by name.

Private pay and facility accounts. A private-pay rider pays the published rates and needs no doctor’s order. Hospitals, nursing facilities and senior communities book on contracted rates; see our facilities page.

Booking ahead, trip notes and cancellations

For a same-day ride or a discharge we need three hours’ notice at the least; book a day ahead and the van is guaranteed. Same-day requests go by phone to dispatch at (703) 304-7889, and a call or text confirms each booking within two hours.

Use the notes for what the driver needs to know: the garage or loading entrance, the building at Riderwood and the pickup point, the unit, the appointment and its length, and how many steps there are at a house. Riders over 300 lbs need bariatric service.

There’s no charge to cancel or change a ride more than two hours before pickup; inside that, or if nobody is there at pickup, the fee is $50. Phone us, email Reservations@hmtransport.com or use the app.

Wheelchair transportation in Silver Spring: common questions

What does a round trip from downtown Silver Spring to Holy Cross Hospital cost?

$110. The hospital is about two and a half miles away, so both legs stay inside the five included miles. Longer trips add $3.00 a mile on each leg past five, and a one-way ride is $90 plus $3.00 a mile.

Do you pick up at Holy Cross Hospital and White Oak Medical Center?

Yes, for appointments and discharges; a discharge needs three hours’ notice. Tell us the unit and the entrance, and the driver takes the rider all the way home and inside.

Can you take a Silver Spring rider into DC or Virginia?

Yes. Our WMATC authority 3449 covers rides into DC and across Montgomery and Prince George’s counties, and Virginia DMV Certificate #524 covers the Virginia part of the trip. The fares stay the same.

Does Maryland Medicaid pay for wheelchair rides?

Not with us, because H&M Transport is not a Medicaid provider in Maryland. In Montgomery County, Medicaid rides are arranged through the county Department of Transportation’s Medical Assistance Transportation Program. In DC we serve only members of UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of the District of Columbia, through SafeRide Health.

How is this different from MetroAccess?

MetroAccess requires certification and advance booking and runs shared rides in a 30-minute window. With us there’s no certification, a same-day ride can usually be arranged on at least three hours’ notice, and the driver helps the rider from inside the home to the appointment.

Can you take a Riderwood resident to appointments off campus?

Yes. Tell us the building and the pickup point, and the driver meets the rider at the front desk and goes from there to the appointment, whether that is a specialist, Holy Cross, White Oak or a dialysis center.

Can you run three-day dialysis rides to DaVita Silver Spring on Georgia Avenue?

Yes. One call puts the days and chair times on a standing order. If a session runs late, the ride home becomes a will-call, with a driver at the center within 45 minutes of your call; calling a little before the session ends gets the driver moving sooner.

What we don’t do

There’s no medical care on a wheelchair van: nobody on board monitors or treats the rider, we don’t go to emergency rooms, and a move to another hospital for a higher level of care is an ambulance job. For an emergency, call 911. If a rider becomes unwell, the driver stops safely and calls 911. If the rider can’t sit upright for the length of the trip, book stretcher transportation.

More from H&M Transport near Silver Spring

All medical transportation in Silver Spring · Wheelchair transportation across the DC region · Rides to Holy Cross Hospital · Rides to White Oak Medical Center · Dialysis transportation · Hospital discharge