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Veterans Transportation — Free Round Trips to VA Appointments, in Every County

The veterans department runs free, round-trip, non-emergency medical transport to VA authorised appointments and VA approved non-VA providers. A federally funded programme covers fifteen highly rural counties; a state expansion covers eighteen more. Rides must be booked at least three days ahead, and a specific identification card is required.

Verified August 23, 2026

What this benefit is

The veterans department runs free, round-trip, non-emergency medical transport to VA authorised appointments and VA approved non-VA providers. A federally funded programme covers fifteen highly rural counties; a state expansion covers eighteen more. Rides must be booked at least three days ahead, and a specific identification card is required.

What it's worth: Free round-trip, non-emergency medical transport to VA authorised appointments

  • The department states that veterans can schedule free round-trip, non-emergency medical transportation to VA authorised appointments and VA approved non-VA healthcare providers.
  • The programme is described as funded by both the federal department and the State.
  • The Highly Rural Veteran Transportation Program is funded through a federal Highly Rural Transportation Grant and focuses on fifteen designated highly rural counties: Catron, Cibola, Colfax, De Baca, Guadalupe, Harding, Hidalgo, Lincoln, Mora, Quay, San Miguel, Sierra, Socorro, Torrance and Union.
  • Services are available to any areas within Native or Tribal lands.
  • The Statewide Veterans Transportation Program expands into eighteen additional counties: Bernalillo, Chaves, Curry, Doña Ana, Eddy, Grant, Lea, Los Alamos, Luna, McKinley, Otero, Rio Arriba, Roosevelt, San Juan, Sandoval, Santa Fe, Taos and Valencia.
  • All rides must be requested at least three days in advance.
  • To schedule, the department requires a valid Department of Defense card (VHIC or VIC) issued by the federal department of veterans affairs, or a valid government-issued identification with a veterans designation.
  • Booking runs through a transportation coordinator, Monday to Friday, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, closed between 12:00 and 1:00.
  • The programme sits in the department’s Healthcare Coordination Division, which publishes a named transportation programme coordinator alongside the booking line.

Who is entitled to it

  • The ride is for the veteran going to the appointment.
  • You served in the armed forces.
  • Your home is in New Mexico.

Not sure whether that describes you?

Answer a few questions about this benefit specifically — we only ask what this one actually depends on, and we stop as soon as we know.

How to claim it

Deadline: At least three days before the appointment
  1. 1Sort the identification out first. The department asks for a VHIC or VIC card, or a government-issued ID carrying a veterans designation. A discharge document is not on the list, and turning up with only that is the likeliest way to lose a booking.
  2. 2Ring at least three days before the appointment. The rule is stated flatly and is not described as flexible.
  3. 3Ring inside the working hours published — weekdays 8:30 to 4:30, with the line closed over the lunch hour.
  4. 4Say whether the appointment is at a VA facility or with a VA approved non-VA provider. Both are covered, and the second one is the part people assume is excluded.
  5. 5If you live in one of the fifteen highly rural counties, you are in the federally funded programme; if you live in one of the eighteen others, you are in the state expansion. You do not need to work out which — the coordinator does — but it explains why neighbours get different answers about how long the service has existed.
  6. 6Ask about tribal land specifically if that is where you are. The department says services are available to any areas within Native or Tribal lands.
  7. 7Book the return leg at the same time. The service is described as round trip.
  8. 8Do not use it for an emergency. It is expressly non-emergency transport.
Form
No form — telephone or e-mail the transportation coordinator
File with
Department of Veterans’ Services — transportation coordinator
No renewal
Once granted it does not need renewing.
CorrectionThis is not the federal Veterans Transportation Service, and it is not a volunteer van network run by a service organisation. Half of it is a state programme, and it exists precisely where the federal highly-rural grant does not reach.
Worth knowingFifteen counties plus eighteen counties is thirty-three, which is every county in the state. Whatever the two programmes are called, the practical answer is that the service is statewide.
Known gapNothing read this session says whether a caregiver or escort may ride, whether there is a distance limit, what happens if an appointment overruns, or whether a surviving spouse attending a VA appointment is covered. Nor was any statute or appropriation behind the state expansion read — the state legislature host refused every request.

Sources

This finder provides an informational match, not a government eligibility determination. The responsible agency decides your application.