How the STAR NEMT Platform Works
STAR is a real-time medical transportation network connecting state brokers (MAS), human dispatchers, vehicle fleets, and mobile drivers into one synchronized workflow.
1. Central Dispatch Board
The control center where dispatchers monitor all active trips, assign rides to available drivers, view live vehicle GPS on interactive maps, and track on-time performance.
2. Driver Companion App
A native Android application carried by drivers. It receives daily manifests, launches voice turn-by-turn navigation, logs arrival and drop-off timestamps, and queues updates offline.
3. Automation & Accessibility Layer
Automated background services bridge external state portals (NYS MAS) and provide hands-free accessibility automation so drivers can focus strictly on safe operation.
Understanding the Accessibility & Automation Layer
How data synchronization and driver assistance work under the hood
New York State manages Medicaid transport via the MAS portal, which lacks standard programmatic API endpoints.
- Autonomous Browser Worker: A dedicated container (CT 356) runs an automated Playwright browser session that logs into the portal and retrieves daily rosters.
- Interactive Human Hand-off: If multi-factor authentication or a CAPTCHA challenge is required, dispatchers can interact directly with the live browser session via noVNC.
- Real-Time Schedule Sync: Trips and passenger manifests are pulled into our database and dispatched automatically.
Operating a vehicle requires complete focus on the road. The STAR Driver app incorporates Android Accessibility services to reduce driver distraction:
- One-Tap Navigation Handoff: Directly routes coordinates to Google Maps / Waze without manual entry.
- Automated State Transitions: Detects trip milestones (arrived, rider onboard, completed) and logs GPS-verified timestamps automatically.
- Resilient Offline Cache: Records all trip actions and GPS breadcrumbs locally if mobile signal drops, uploading them the second connection resumes.
STAR Driver App Installation
Version: 1.9.4 (Build 21) • Signed Release APK
Simple Setup Steps:
- Tap Download star-driver.apk on your Android device.
- If your browser warns "File might be harmful", select Download anyway.
- Open the downloaded APK file from your notification bar or Downloads folder.
- If prompted that installation from unknown sources is disabled, tap Settings → enable Allow from this source → tap Back.
- Tap Install, then tap Open and sign in with your driver credentials.