We started using First Choice Ambulette in March of 2019 when our mother started dialysis. So we get 6 trips a week with them. I find the company very reliable. Its a difficult job. Carrying passengers with special needs, the elderly, the patients on years of dialysis, are all very complicated. They try their utmost best to pick up our mom on time. It is only under extenuating circumstances, like weather, traffic jams, unexpected emergency with the previous passenger, that they would be late. And they always inform us. Starting with dispatchers Jenifer, Rosie, and Lance to drivers Willy, Irene, Steven, Ron, Othneil, Jean, Alex, Nestor and rest of the team, they have all gotten to know us and Mom and treat her with care and courtesy. They do their job with responsibility. Always taking all safety precautions. I read some of the old reviews in disbelief and then inquired directly from the company since I wasn't a customer then. Apparently, ever since Gil took over the company and Jenifer joined the company, there has been a complete overhaul. They add new vehicles every 3 months. And have a lot more drivers than they did in the past. I would encourage other current users to share their experience. read more

they came to my hospital 9-15-25 take me to the rehab rehabilitation center. They wanted cash or the bill paid before they could take me even though I have insurance so they said well then will give you a card our receipts and you could offer that now my insurance company wants to diagnostic number code and all those other code and we're still fighting back-and-forth that they don't have that and they will not fill out the paper. The inside of the trucks are dirty and old the band that drove me said he was using somebody else's truck cause his truck broke down a while a week later when I left the hospital I saw that same guy same truck so I would not recommend them at all. read more

Provides transportation service for mom to and from dialysis 3 days a week, and other medical appointments. Drivers and staff providing ambulatory service are professional compassionate helpful and competent. I can't say that we have not run into problems due to delays in pickup or scheduling, but the owner and the staff have always worked with us and have work with us towards a solution. I would certainly give them 9 out of 10. read more

It was a pleasure riding in truck # 82 with Irene she was such a kind and caring person. She made my moms day.

Was recommended First Choice after bilateral knee replacements by St. Francis Hospital for transport home to Amityville. Daughter was my escort. It was in May - and about 80 degrees. The van was hot and the driver claimed it was due to weather, but the blowers were blowing hot air. The unfinished interior of van had two rotted holes in the rear drivers wheel well, and with traffic, exhaust fumes were entering the vehicle. Trip took an hour due to traffic; fortunately we had ice packs to put over our face but was getting sick from fumes. Daughter asked driver to open windows (drivers side and passenger side) due to fumes and heat; he was not happy. She observed the check engine light was on. Left three messages at First Choice with no return call. Finally got someone to answer and spoke with manager in their office to dispute the 185$ co-payment charge. They gave my daughter 50$ refund. Not even sure what they charged the insurance company. Called again and spoke with someone "higher up" and they claimed the van was in for a vehicle inspection the day prior to my service and passed with flying colors. Told them they need a new inspector/mechanic. The CHECK ENGINE LIGHT was definitely on, and there was definitely fumes coming into vehicle. I was nauseus for hours. Called patient care at St. Francis to lodge a complaint two weeks later due to their lack of empathy and concern for future patient care. The hospital care "professional" was offended by my accusations regarding their recommendation for transport and did not want to hear any further, stating she would have "Rosie" or "Rosalie" the owner of First Choice call me back immediately. Still waiting for that call... 8 weeks later. Do not use First Choice Ambulette for yourself, and definitely do not put anyone you love in one of their vehicles without an escort. My daughter can attest to the condition of their vehicle, the holes in the van wheel well and the lack of AC on a hot day.... I did tip the driver since he did get us home...safely. read more

Zero stars if I could. Hubby's in rehab. Had a doctor's appointment ten minutes from the rehab. Rockville Centre to So. Nassau. Appointment at noon at So Nassau. Instructions clearly stated "wife to accompany". This is important as my husband has some mild cognitive issues and confusion. I arrived at the rehab 11:08, having not been informed of the pickup time. Stupid me, thinking 50 minutes for a10-minute trip would provide ample travel time. When I arrived at the rehab I was told they'd "just left". Without me. Despite instructions. Rehab calls them. Will they come back and get me, since they're just down the block? No, they will not. I had to get to the hospital in my own car, hoping they didn't leave my confused husband in the lobby at So Nassau unsure where to go. But unbelievably, the best part was the return trip. That's the part after the brief doctor's appointment was over, when we waited about TWO HOURS for a car to return us to the rehab. Again, the rehab that's TEN minutes away.! My diabetic husband missed his lunch (not good), and had an awkward restroom issue someone in a wheelchair cannot handle in a public restroom. My repeated calls requesting to know where my husband's return ride might be got stupider and stupider answers from the employees of this company as the afternoon wore on. We had answers about dispatchers, answers about where the vans were, and how the vans were transporting other people. WHO CARES? Is 2 hours a reasonable time to wait for a ride you knew was booked? Of course it isn't reasonable. We were hostages to their poor management of their schedule. Do not under any circumstances book with this company. Horrible experience, and the staff who answers knows the service sucks, so they give scripted answers a 3rd grader may have written for them as far as I can tell. Notice there are no replies here to all the one-star reviews. Perhaps the managers know there is no point defending this substandard service. Ugh. Their farcical business card says they're "reliable" and... Wait for it..."prompt"." read more

The absolute worst customer service I have ever dealt with in a company. We had an ambulance pick up scheduled for our sick brother who had to be canceled due to health reasons. They still billed us, 3 separate charges. Was told we'd see a refund within 72 hours. Now, we continue to call and "Alex" in billing is constantly not available at extension 105 as he promised us and the representatives who answer the call are rude and obnoxious. "Milly" who answered today, rudely tells me oh Alex is not available and then proceeded to tell me to call back tomorrow which we keep being told every day this week. She then proceeded to rudely hang up on me after just "call back tomorrow, call back tomorrow call back tomorrow". Alex is an absolute trash employee and so are all of their customer service reps. This business should be absolutely ashamed of themselves for how they treat customers, knowing they are transporting sick family members. Filed a complaint with BBB and the Attorney General. Will also be contacting my bank. If these were my employees I would fire everyone and train a new staff. read more

We used the service on July 30 2015. Mom is in her 90s and just had four major surgeries. We needed to transport her from a nursing facility to a medical procedure at a different location and back. The vehicle had many hundreds of thousands of miles and the suspension was terrible. This vehicle hit every bump really hard. It was a jarring and harsh painful experience. Even without the surgeries the ride would have been bad for a very elderly person. When mom called to complain a rude owner or manager professed that his vehicles passed a NYS safety inspection. The problem is that this vehicle was not a reasonable van to transport patients in and the owners know it's not. Major fail all the way around. Steer clear. FIRST CHOICE IS A FAILURE, IT'S OWNERS ARE A FAILURE, IT'S SEEMINGLY MOST IMPORTANT ASSET, IT'S VEHICLES ARE CRAP. FIRST CHOICE IS YOUR LAST CHOICE. read more

You are better off trying to take yourself wherever you have to go. They arrived half hour late to pick us up for my dads doctor appt. Then when his appt was over, we had to wait 1.5 hours for our return ride home!!! It was ridiculous and the man on the phone didn't seem to care that we had prebooked it and had to wait a very long time. My dad has recently suffered from a variety of cardiac issues and was hospitalized for 17 days. He needed to get home to take his meds and get oxygen and this place kept us waiting for WAY TOO LONG!! $250 to have us waiting a total of 2 hours between going and coming. No wonder it was the only place available!!! No one wants to use them! And you shouldn't. read more

Public safety service announcement. Please SHARE! If you have an elderly family member who utilizes ambulette services to get to and from doctor appointments or home from the hospital do NOT EVER use the company 1st Choice. They are completely unprofessional and unsafe. The equipment is old and not in working order. Their drivers do not wear name tags and when you ask them their name, they refuse to tell you. When you ask for their supervisors name, they ignore you or say they don't know. Their on board wheelchairs do not lock in Van #44. Whoever you choose to book your transportation through, let them know you do not want this company. read more

Consistently late! Consistently horrible vans! Consistently lie about how when they will arrive. Consistently drive too fast. Consistently do not secure wheelchair properly. Willy is the only good driver who has any coustomer service experience. -10 out of 10. read more

This company is the absolute worst. Their vehicles are peices of junk. I wouldn't allow my dog to ride in one. Just take a close look at the pictures on there website. The drivers are rude and hardly speak english. The vans have a million miles on them and are falling apart. The owner (Abe) is also very rude. And that sparkling review above was written by the other owner Gil. Way to go, giving yourself a 5 star review. Worst experience ever! If you have a loved one who needs assistance call a real ambulette company. read more

i have used 1st choice for several years now, because out of several different ambulette companies i tried, they were really the only ones that turned out to be trustworthy and reliable. i found them after another company failed to pick up my husband and me for a wedding, which we ended up missing. i've since used 1st choice instead to go all over long island and out of state, to go to funerals and weddings, important things we want to be on time for, and have always found their drivers to be professional and responsible. we just used them yesterday and they were very flexible about allowing us to change our return time when we realized the event we were at was ending 1.5 hours early. i see some of the older reviews comment that the vans are not in good shape, however i've found that they are in good shape with working lifts and new or newer tie-downs. my husband and i are both in power wheelchairs and usually ride together, and the vans have never been a problem, at least for us. will definitely continue to use them as long as they are this high quality. read more

I have used this service to get my 85 year old aunt to and from the doctors. She live in a garden apartment with 7 steps between her door and the front door of the building. It costs 250 dollars every trip for 2 guys from this company to get her up and down 7 steps which in my opinion is high but the problem came to when their drives weren't showing up on time and to help get her back in the house. The last trip she will ever from these guy was this past one because it took them over an hour and half to get from Mineola to garden city and then when I asked the driver how long it took him he said 10 minutes. The other problem was that I had to help the driver get her in the house after we got back because the other driver "was on his way" which never showed up so when I asked for a refund for half of what she paid they said we can refund 50 dollars. USERS BEWARE OF THIS COMPANY THEY ARE HORRIBLE. read more

The worst service ever. We used them while my Dad was in the hospital. They than charged me automatically on my credit card 1 month later. I called them to find out why I was charged this fee that was not authorized. Gil, the owner, was extremly rude and unprofessional. He acted like he was doing me a favor by refunding My money. He should have paid me the overdraft fee that I was charged becuase of his incompitance. He hung up the phone on me twice and called me and my family liars. I would definetly not recommend this service to anyone that has any amount of respect for themselves or their family. Gil is unprofessional and amateurish in his work ethic. read more

Called to find out what had happened to the driver when I was dropped off at a doctor's office from a rehab/nursing facility & was told that he left after 45 minutes. I was never told on the phone that there was a time limit for my appointment, that the driver would leave me there, or that I was to call back to get another driver to pick me up. I was just told that it would be $150 for a round trip to my doctor's office from the rehab/nursing facility I was staying at!! When I called to find out about the situation , the person on the phone was abrupt , rude and dishonest by telling me the driver was on his way & would be there within 30 minutes. I called again and was told the driver would be there in 10 minutes, which again was a lie because he only arrived after over one hour of my initial call. Furthermore, when told that my oxygen tank was running low , the person on the phone informed me that I was at a doctors office and that they have oxygen! My oxygen tank was empty after only a few minutes of being picked up and my oxygen saturation was at 83% upon arrival at the rehab/nursing facility!! This was my first time going to a doctor's appointment via this type of transportation read more