Transportation sounds settled when someone says, “Yes, I can drive her.” It is not settled. Before you commit, identify the driver, the vehicle, the allowed trips, and the person who will confirm insurance questions.
This sheet does not determine whether a driver or vehicle is adequately insured. It gives you the questions to take to the provider, the driver, and the insurer. Keep the answers with the other checks in your hiring file. The site’s approach to public records and source selection is explained on How We Write the Sheets, with the underlying public resources collected on Sources.
1. Name the transportation you actually need
Do not ask only, “Can you provide transportation?” Describe the trips. A ride to a nearby grocery store is a different assignment from waiting through an appointment, carrying purchases, using a parking garage, or driving after dark.
Write down every expected trip: ______________________________
Ask: “Which of these trips will you accept as part of the regular assignment?”
Listen for an answer that separates driving from related duties such as waiting, helping with purchases, parking, and bringing your parent back inside. Write down anything excluded: ______________________________
Walk away from the transportation part of the arrangement if the answer remains “whatever she needs” after you ask for specific boundaries.
2. Decide whose vehicle will be used
Ask separately about the caregiver’s car, your parent’s car, and any agency vehicle. Do not let “we provide transportation” stand in for an answer.
Vehicle authorized for trips: ______________________________
Vehicle owner: ______________________________
Other vehicles expressly prohibited: ______________________________
If your parent’s car may be used, ask: “Who will confirm that this particular driver may operate this particular vehicle under the policy?” Record the insurer or agent you will contact: ______________________________
If the caregiver’s car may be used, ask: “Who owns the car, and is this the car that will normally arrive?” A clear answer names the owner and explains what happens if another vehicle appears.
3. Identify the actual driver
Ask: “Will anyone besides the person we approve be allowed to drive?”
Approved driver or drivers: ______________________________
If you are hiring through an agency, ask whether a substitute sent for a shift is automatically authorized to drive. If you are hiring directly, state that another person may not take over the trip without your approval. The broader choice between those hiring lanes is laid out in Hire a Caregiver in St. Louis: Agency or Direct.
Listen for a process: who checks the substitute, who tells you, and whether you can decline transportation while still accepting help in the house.
Walk away if you cannot learn who may be behind the wheel before the first trip.
4. Check the license yourself
Ask to see the driver’s current license. Compare the name with the person you met. Record only what you need for your file rather than leaving the sole copy on somebody’s phone.
Name checked: ______________________________
License status checked through the applicable public or official channel: ______________________________
Person who performed the check: ______________________________
Ask an agency: “Do you check driving eligibility only when hiring, or again while this person remains assigned to driving?” Ask a direct hire: “Will you tell me immediately if your authority to drive changes?”
Do not treat “I have never had a problem” as verification.
5. Put the insurance question in the right hands
Do not ask the caregiver to interpret an insurance policy. Ask the insurer or agent responsible for the vehicle that will be used. Describe the arrangement plainly: who owns the car, who employs or pays the caregiver, and what trips are contemplated.
Question asked: “Is this driver and this use addressed by the policy, and what documentation can you provide?”
Person or office contacted: ______________________________
Answer received: ______________________________
Document or reference number retained: ______________________________
If an agency says it carries coverage, ask for the document that identifies the insured organization, the relevant coverage period, and the contact for questions. Your task is not to interpret the document. Your task is to confirm that the named organization matches the organization you may hire, then direct unresolved questions to the issuing agent.
Walk away from driving if everyone refers the question to someone else and nobody accepts responsibility for answering it.
6. Inspect the trip setup, not just the paperwork
Before approving transportation, look at the vehicle your parent is expected to enter. Check the seat height, door opening, step into the vehicle, space for any usual belongings, and the place where pickup will occur.
Vehicle observed: ______________________________
Usual pickup location: ______________________________
Items that must fit: ______________________________
Ask: “If this vehicle is unavailable, do you cancel the trip, send another approved driver, or ask to use a different car?” Write the exact answer: ______________________________
Do not accept an unplanned vehicle substitution merely because an appointment is approaching.
7. Set rules for keys, fuel, parking, and purchases
Transportation often creates access to keys, cards, cash, receipts, and personal information. Decide before hiring what the caregiver may hold and what must be returned after each trip.
Car key location and return point: ______________________________
Allowed payment method for fuel or parking: ______________________________
Receipt return location: ______________________________
Purchases the caregiver may make: ______________________________
Purchases requiring advance approval: ______________________________
Ask: “How will you record parking, fuel, or purchases connected with a trip?” Listen for one repeatable method, not a promise to remember.
Walk away if the proposed method requires routine use of your parent’s bank card, PIN, blank check, or cash without a written limit and receipt process you can review.
8. Confirm what happens when a trip changes
Ask about the ordinary disruptions: the appointment runs long, your parent wants an extra stop, the caregiver’s car will not start, or the approved driver is absent.
Ask: “Who must approve an added stop?”
Ask: “Who calls me if the return time changes?”
Ask: “Can the in-home shift continue if transportation is unavailable?”
Contact for trip changes: ______________________________
Added stops allowed without approval: ______________________________
Fallback when no approved driver or vehicle is available: ______________________________
A usable answer gives you a named contact and a fallback. “We will figure it out” is not a transportation plan.
9. Read the written agreement one more time
Find the sections addressing transportation, vehicle use, expenses, substitutions, and incident reporting. Compare them with your notes. Mark any conflict and request a written clarification before you commit.
Agreement section reviewed: ______________________________
Conflict or missing term: ______________________________
Written clarification received from: ______________________________
If transportation appears nowhere in the agreement, do not rely on the sales call. Keep transportation outside the assignment until the provider or direct hire confirms the arrangement in writing.
10. Make the decision in two parts
You do not have to accept or reject the entire caregiver arrangement based on an unresolved driving question. Record two decisions.
Approved for work in the home: Yes / No
Approved to transport your parent: Yes / No / Not yet
Conditions still open: ______________________________
Next person to contact: ______________________________
Return to the larger hiring sequence at Start Here: Five Steps to Hiring. Keep transportation marked “not yet” until the named driver, named vehicle, insurer response, expense method, and change procedure all match what you wrote down.