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A Free Ride to a VA Appointment From 42 Rural Counties

Two transit operators hold federal highly rural transportation grants covering this state, and between them they serve 42 counties. The rides go to VA and VA-authorised health appointments and cost the veteran nothing. The eligibility test is not your rating or your income — it is the population density of the county you live in: fewer than seven people per square mile.

Verified August 23, 2026

What this benefit is

Two transit operators hold federal highly rural transportation grants covering this state, and between them they serve 42 counties. The rides go to VA and VA-authorised health appointments and cost the veteran nothing. The eligibility test is not your rating or your income — it is the population density of the county you live in: fewer than seven people per square mile.

What it's worth: Free transport to VA-authorised health appointments across 42 highly rural counties, run by two grant-holding transit operators

  • The federal veterans department publishes two grantees serving this state: one covering 34 counties and a second covering a further 8.
  • The counties named are Aurora, Bennett, Brule, Buffalo, Campbell, Clark, Day, Deuel, Dewey, Douglas, Edmunds, Faulk, Gregory, Hand, Haakon, Hyde, Jackson, Jerauld, Jones, Kingsbury, Lyman, Marshall, McPherson, Mellette, Miner, Potter, Sanborn, Spink, Stanley, Sully, Todd, Tripp and Ziebach, plus Butte, Corson, Custer, Fall River, Harding, Oglala Lakota and Perkins.
  • The programme rule is that eligible counties have fewer than seven people per square mile.
  • Grants are made to veteran service organisations and state veterans service agencies operating in those counties.
  • Rides are free to the veteran where the programme is available.
  • The transport supports long trips and overnight stays for surgery or extended treatment, as well as day trips for primary care, specialty care and mental health appointments.
  • The federal veterans department states that in 2024 each grantee received $50,000 annually, and that grant funds cover salaries, vehicle purchase and maintenance, and marketing.
  • The programme has operated since 2013.

Who is entitled to it

  • You are in this state.

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.

From what you have told us so far, you appear to qualify.

How to claim it

  1. 1Find your county in the list before you ring anyone. Forty-two counties are covered and the rest are not, and the county you live in is the whole test.
  2. 2Ask your county veterans service officer which of the two operators covers you. They are different organisations with different service areas.
  3. 3Say if the appointment needs an overnight stay. The programme is explicitly built for long trips and overnight stays for surgery or extended treatment, not only day trips.
  4. 4Book early. Two operators covering 42 rural counties on $50,000 a year each is a thin service, and the seat goes to whoever asked first.
  5. 5Ask whether a family member or friend can travel with you. Companion policy varies by operator and it is worth settling before the day.
  6. 6If your county is not covered, ask the county service office what else runs locally — a county van, a volunteer driver network, or VA travel reimbursement.
Form
No form — booked with the grant-holding transit operator for your county
File with
The transit operator serving your county, or your county veterans service officer
No renewal
Once granted it does not need renewing.
Worth knowingThe grant is federal but the delivery is local, and in this state it is held by transit operators rather than by the state veterans department. That is why the county service office, not the state office, is the place to start.
Known gapNeither source read this session publishes booking lead times, wheelchair accessibility by operator, or whether a companion may travel free. Those vary by operator and are worth settling on the first call.
CorrectionThis is not VA travel pay and it is not a mileage reimbursement. It is a ride. A veteran who has been told they are "not eligible for travel benefits" because of their rating or income may still be eligible for this, because the test is where they live.

Sources

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