No ride home after surgery?There are five real answers to this in Minnesota, and the first one is free. Below, all five side by side: what each costs, who each suits, and where each one stops working — including the two that will not work at all after sedation, and including ours.
- Five optionslaid out in the order worth trying them, cheapest first
- $100/hrwhat ours costs, flat, if none of the free ones work
- 3 riders freeso bringing somebody you know costs nothing on top
First, find out what your clinic is actually asking for.
Two very different requirements get written down in nearly the same words, and which one you are facing changes every answer below.
“You cannot drive”
The narrow version, and the one that is universally true after sedation: the medication rules out driving for the rest of the day, whatever you feel like an hour afterwards. If that is the whole requirement, then any of the arranged rides below solves it and the question is only which one you want to pay for.
“A responsible adult must accompany you”
The wider version, and this is where it gets specific to your facility. Some ask that somebody go home with you. Some ask that they stay for a period afterwards. Some name a licensed transport provider as acceptable and some do not. Only your clinic can tell you which it means, and one call to the number on your appointment letter settles it while you still have time to arrange something else.
Ask before your prep day, not after it. A procedure that goes ahead and then cannot be discharged means a completed prep wasted, and those are not easy to reschedule. Everything on this page is easier to arrange three days early.
The five options, cheapest first.
Work down the list rather than across it. Most people who land here have not actually finished the first row.
| The option | What it costs | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Somebody you know | What it costsFree | What to knowTry this first and try it properly — most clinics are asking for a person rather than for a vehicle, and a neighbour with a morning spare is the cheapest answer available. It stops working when the appointment is at 7am on a weekday, when it repeats, or when the only people you could ask do not drive either. |
| The hospital's own discharge team | What it costsFree to ask | What to knowAsk the social worker or discharge planner attached to your procedure whether the facility has transport resources — some do, and it costs nothing to find out. It is not a guarantee, the answer differs by facility and by what you qualify for, and it is worth asking early rather than on the day. |
| Metro Mobility or public transit | What it costsA few dollars | What to knowShared-route paratransit is far cheaper than any private ride and right for a great many trips. It is the wrong tool here: it does not wait for you, the pickup is a window rather than a time, and it needs certification arranged in advance. Where paratransit fits, and where it does not. |
| A booked ride that waits | What it costs$100/hr | What to knowThis is what we do: one booking covers the ride in, the whole wait, and the ride home, with the same driver both directions and up to 3 people along at no extra charge. It costs real money — an ordinary procedure morning is about $350 — and it is not the answer if somebody you know can simply take you. |
| A rideshare or a taxi | What it costsVaries | What to knowWhether your clinic accepts one is the clinic’s decision and it differs, so ask yours before your prep day. What no rideshare does is sit in the lot for three hours, meet you at the door when you come out, or walk you into your own house — and a sedan has no ramp and nothing on the floor to secure a chair to. |
In an emergency, none of this applies. Chest pain, heavy bleeding, trouble breathing after you get home — that is 911. Every option above is scheduled transport, and waiting for any of them is the wrong call.
If it comes to the fourth row.
One flat rate, the whole morning inside it, and the figure confirmed on the call before anything is held.
- $100an hour, flat, pickup to drop-off — the driving in both directions is inside it
- $350a typical procedure morning, about three and a half hours door to door
- $200if you are out in two. The figure follows the clock down as well as up
There is no base fare on top and no mileage on top — the hourly rate is the whole fare, wheelchair or walking. Up to 3 people ride along at no extra charge, which is what covers the case where your clinic wants somebody you know beside you as well as a way of getting home. Cancelling is free until an hour before pickup, and inside that hour it is 10% of the fare — clinics move procedures, sometimes on the morning, so tell us as soon as they tell you.
It is not only for colonoscopies. Wait & Return runs the same shape after an endoscopy, cataract surgery or dental IV sedation, and the colonoscopy morning is written out hour by hour if that is the procedure you have booked.
Asked with nobody to ask.
What the wait costs, who else can come, and what happens if the procedure moves. Open a row for the rest — none of it changes when you dial.
14 answers
What if I have nobody to take me home?That is this service.
One booking covers the ride there, the wait, and the ride home, with the same driver both directions. If your clinic wants somebody you know beside you as well, up to 3 people ride along at no extra charge — so bringing a daughter or a neighbor costs nothing on top of the fare.
Will you count as my ride home after sedation?Ask your clinic first.
Escort policies differ by facility, so check yours before the prep. What we do is fixed either way: the driver waits the entire appointment, walks you out, and takes you home — and up to 3 family members ride along at no charge.
The ride home after a colonoscopyCan I just take an Uber home?Your clinic decides that.
Sedation discharge rules are the facility's to write and they differ, so ask yours before your prep day. What no rideshare does is sit in the lot for three hours, meet you at the door when you come out, and walk you into your own house — that part is the whole service here.
The ride home after a colonoscopyCan my daughter ride along?Yes — up to 3, free.
Up to 3 additional riders travel at no extra charge, in the same van, on the same booking. One fare covers everyone.
Is it only for colonoscopies?No — any sedation.
Colonoscopy and endoscopy are the common ones, and cataract surgery and dental IV sedation run the same shape: it is the medication rather than the procedure that means you should not drive afterwards. Any appointment you would rather not be dropped at the curb after is a booking.
How long will the driver wait?As long as it takes.
$100 an hour, flat, pickup to drop-off — same driver, same van, wheelchair or ambulatory. If the appointment runs an hour over, the van is still outside.
How Wait & Return worksDoes the $100 start when my appointment starts?No. Pickup to drop-off.
The clock runs from your door to your door — $100 an hour, flat, the driving included. A typical sedation morning runs about three and a half hours: $350.
What if I am out in an hour?You pay the hours used.
The figure follows the clock, so a short morning is a short bill — two hours door to door is $200, not the three-and-a-half-hour example. We estimate it on the call from your procedure time and confirm it before anything is held.
What if the appointment runs long?The van is still outside.
The driver stays until you are done. An hour over is another hour at $100 — never a second dispatch, never a stranded ride home.
Wheelchair or walking — does the rate change?Either. Same flat rate.
Wait & Return is $100 an hour whether you ride in the chair or walk to the van, pickup to drop-off. If you do not need the driver to wait, ordinary one-way rates apply instead.
How the wheelchair ride worksDo you pick up after a hospital discharge?Yes — an ordinary booking.
Give us the hospital, the unit, and the time they expect to release you, then call when the paperwork is actually done. Walking or in a chair, you are met inside and walked to your own door at the other end.
Which clinics do you drive to?Any of them.
The endoscopy and surgery centers across the metro — Plymouth, Maple Grove, St. Louis Park, Edina, Minneapolis — and any clinic or dental office in between. Give us the address and the procedure time; we build the morning backwards from it.
How far ahead should I book?Before your prep day.
Procedure mornings are the busiest slots we run, and the early ones go first. Book when you get your appointment letter, not the night before — and if the procedure gets rescheduled, one call moves the ride with it.
What if my procedure is cancelled?Free, until an hour before.
Inside that hour it is 10% of the fare. Clinics move procedures, sometimes the morning of — tell us as soon as they tell you and it costs you nothing.
While you are working it out.
The next questions people ask after this one — same plain answers, same published figures.
Tell us what the clinic said. We will tell you if this fits.
A person answers, works the morning backwards from your check-in time, and quotes the wait off the card printed above. If somebody you know can take you instead, we will say so.
Have these ready
- The pickup address, and the clinic or building you are going to.
- The date and the appointment time.
- Wheelchair or ambulatory, and whether the chair is yours.
- Whether the driver should wait, or come back for you later.