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Welcome Call the Car to TTA!

Writer's picture: Abena Bonso-BruceAbena Bonso-Bruce

Updated: Jun 19, 2023



Call the Car is excited to grow transportation for the better by joining The Transportation Alliance (TTA).


Call the Car was founded in Pasadena, California, in 2010 by CEO, Dr. Michelle Tyson, and Ara Hagopian, who collaborated to help improve transportation for patients. In 2010, they started with one contract with one health plan in dialysis transportation and acquired current Vice President of Contracting and Operations, Michael Fell, in 2015. Since then, they’ve grown to multiple contracts and subcontracts with many local health plans and local transportation vendors in California.


“We really wanted to focus on dialysis members because they are the most critical ones that cannot miss an appointment,” said Fell. Fell further adds “We saw a greater need to grow the company with a model and mindset of member first always.”


Drivers at Call the Car work closely with dialysis members as their transporters. The company appointed their drivers to see every dialysis member to report any changes, as the drivers take them to their appointments. To make drivers accustomed to treating dialysis members, Call the Car partnered with the National Kidney Foundation in 2016, to create dialysis transportation training sessions.


“To understand those little nuanced things, I think it broadened our drivers’ familiarity with what they’re actually doing and what to look out for when they’re transporting members to and from dialysis appointments.”


Call the Car faced many obstacles during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the biggest obstacle was the attrition of their drivers, as they suddenly became frontline workers and “became nervous that they’re interacting with patients on a regular basis,” said Fell.

However, the company continued their operation, by adapting to the safety protocols. They ensured they had PPE for all drivers & members, upgraded their vehicles to keep their drivers safe, and partnered with California My Turn for COVID-19 vaccinations across all 58 counties in California to ensure every person in California had access to the vaccine..


Fell has known TTA’s Treasurer and L.A. Yellow Cab’s General Manager, William Rouse for many years, and has built a strong relationship with him. When L.A. Yellow Cab became a vendor for Call the Car, Rouse re-introduced Fell and the company to TTA, formally known as the TLPA, to connect with other transportation companies nationally and internationally. Remember, registration for Mobilize 2022, back in Las Vegas from October 30-November 2, continues -- and if you haven’t registered, please do so before rates go up on August 15.


“It’s a good way for us to recruit more vendors into our network, but we like to support different transportation industries and hear what’s going on because I think it’s important for us to partner with all the different entities out there,” said Fell.


Please welcome Call the Car to The Transportation Alliance!

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