Since 1970, Kiessling Transit has been a leader in the Massachusetts transportation industry in providing safe, reliable, and cost-effective public transportation. While we have successfully applied our energy, skill and expertise to many different types of transit services and programs, Non-Emergency and Human Services Transportation (HST) is our largest service type, and thus one that we are especially experienced in providing.
In Massachusetts, the responsibility for coordinating non-emergency transportation for consumers falls on the Human Service Transportation (HST) Office. The goal of the HST office is to provide an efficient and high-quality transportation system that enables access to medical, social, and day services for eligible people across Massachusetts.
In order to implement such a critical and comprehensive program, the HST Office contracts with select Regional Transit Authorities (RTAs) to provide brokerage services. MART (Montachusett Regional Transit Authority) and GATRA (Greater Attleboro Taunton Regional Transit Authority) are the two largest transit authorities in Massachusetts that broker this work – combined, they broker approximately 85% of all the work for this service type.
Selected RTAs, like MART and GATRA, are responsible for processing requested trips, both fixed route and demand response, as well as verifying consumer eligibility and monitoring service quality. However, the RTAs do not actually provide the transportation services; instead, they hire qualified transit companies, like Kiessling, that specialize in managing transport programs for organizations and groups that have clients with unique needs and requirements.
At Kiessling Transit, we are very proud to be one of the top providers of HST in the state of Massachusetts and a preferred partner of RTAs, like MART and GATRA. We are grateful to have this opportunity to contribute to the quality of life for eligible consumers of many Massachusetts agencies, including:
MassHealth
Department of Developmental Services
DPH Early Intervention
Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission (MRC)
Massachusetts Commission for the Blind
Department of Mental Health
Through Kiessling’s HST services, those who would not have had the means before, can now access healthcare services, jobs, social services, and a full range of opportunities within their communities. Everyone in our company, from drivers to maintenance to safety trainers to management, is filled with a deep sense of satisfaction knowing that the work we do every day is helping a special population of people improve their overall well-being.
We believe that many of the region’s busiest transit authorities have put their trust in us because we consistently meet and exceed the performance standards of both the state of Massachusetts and the RTAs we partner with.
Kiessling is always committed to providing our customers and passengers with:
High-quality, customer-focused transportation
Friendly, professional and safe curb-to-curb service
Caring assistance for those riders who need help with boarding and exiting of vehicles
Efficient, reliable, and on-time transit to facilities including human service programs, medical services, clinical sites, childcare facilities, and day program sites
Clean, comfortable vehicles that are customized for ambulatory and wheelchair passengers’ distinct needs
Regularly scheduled preventative maintenance of all vehicles in service to ensure that they are safe and roadworthy
Thoroughly prequalified and highly trained drivers , monitors, supervisors, and dispatchers
The names of staff assigned to each route as well as any scheduled changes to these personnel
A more than adequate supply of back-up vehicles and personnel
Quick and helpful responses to telephone ride requests between the hours of 8a.m. and 5p.m. daily as well as a 24 hour answering system to record messages and to inform passengers of their transportation options available outside of regular service hours
Continual compliance with HST Office, EOHHS, agency-specific and broker standards for transportation services, trip verification, personnel qualifications and performance, field inspections and audit, reporting, record keeping, billing and complaint response
If you are a regional transit authority and/or transportation broker for Non-Emergency and HST services in the state of Massachusetts, across New England, or throughout the U.S., Kiessling Transit would make an exceptional local transportation partner. With over 400 employees and more than 320 vehicles ranging from sedans to CDL vans, we can provide you and the consumers you serve with the most efficient routes possible, maximizing the number of passengers on the vehicle while minimizing passenger in-vehicle time. Our expertise is in keeping the cost of the transportation down while making sure our passengers enjoy the shortest and safest ride possible. Contact us to discuss all your Non-Emergency and HST needs today!
Over the course of the 13 years that Jon has been with Kiessling Transit, he has held many roles and taken on a variety of responsibilities. Essentially, Jon’s path has paralleled the trajectory of the company. As Kiessling Transit has transformed and grown in the past decade into a leader within the transportation industry, so too has Jon developed from an IT professional and office administrator at the company to a key executive of the organization.
Jon is both a longtime friend and employee of the Kiesslings, having joined the company in 2004. At the time of his hiring, Kiessling was entering into a new MBTA RIDE contract that required a fully dedicated IT person to manage all facets of the company’s technical infrastructure, systems and support. The Kiesslings hired Jon for this critical role for many reasons, including his expert problem-solving skills, his ability to effectively streamline business practices, and, most important, his collaborative and easygoing demeanor. During Kiessling’s contract management of the MBTA’s THE RIDE services on the South Shore, Jon was solely responsible for managing the Wide Area Network (WAN) installation connecting Kiessling’s Norfolk location with the MBTA’s 10 Park Plaza offices in downtown Boston. Jon has also successfully led a number of company projects, with a heavy emphasis on software migrations of multiple company on-premise systems ranging from Microsoft Exchange/Office365 to cloud based Payroll/HR solutions, many which trimmed annual company IT costs significantly.
Today, as Vice President of Operations, Jon works in lockstep with the Kiessling owners, Lars and Roger, and, with great attention to detail, he oversees all the day-to-day operations at the company. His responsibilities include investigating, recommending, installing and upgrading all company software and reviewing company backups of all databases. Jon’s quick thinking and response time, as well as his proactive IT planning, mean that equipment downtime and other operational issues are kept to a minimum.
It’s truly exciting to see the impact that my team and I have had on improving the practices and processes at Kiessling and at our partner companies. Our goal is always to go above and beyond to help our clients accomplish their desired goals. I look forward to helping you make positive changes at your place of business and a genuine difference in the lives of the people you employ and serve.
Before joining the Kiessling team, Jon was already an accomplished manager, operating internal IT departments and new system rollouts. He has held technical roles at a variety of Massachusetts-based companies, including serving as a systems administrator in the IT departments of both Centra Software Inc. (now SABA Software), in Lexington, MA, and TJX Companies in Framingham, MA. He was also a technical recruiter at Judge.com, previously located in Needham, MA.
Jon grew up in Walpole, MA and now lives close by in Wrentham, MA. He earned a Management Information Systems degree from Salve Regina University in 2000.
While leading the operations team at Kiessling is a consuming job, Jon makes sure to build in time for his family, friends and sports. He devotedly coaches his sons’ athletic teams and loves the opportunity this gives him to watch them grow on many different levels. Jon’s other favorite pastimes include attending concerts and Patriots games, enjoying local restaurants, and playing many, many rounds of terrible golf!
