Ride YourWay Is Redefining Medical Transportation with Compassion and Technology

After battling brain cancer in his teens, Thomas Sikkema co-founded Ride YourWay, a medical transportation company committed to providing safe and reliable transportation for individuals with chronic illnesses, rooted in his personal experience and a vision for a healthier community.

Co-founder, Thomas Sikkema, pauses for a photo as he arrives with a Ride YourWay rider.

Thomas Sikkema's life took an unexpected turn when he was diagnosed with brain cancer at the age of 17. The path to recovery demanded unwavering support from his family and healthcare team, as well as reliable transportation to life-saving treatments. Thomas's battle against cancer compelled him to pursue a career as a registered nurse at Helen DeVos Children's Hospital—the very place where he had once received his own treatment as a teenager.

"As a nurse, I continued to observe a critical need for reliable Non-Emergency Medical Transportation (NEMT), which places additional strain on an already stressed healthcare system," said Thomas.

Driven by compassion and personal experience, Thomas joined forces with his brother, Bradyn, to create Ride YourWay, LLC—a wheelchair and ambulatory transportation company with a mission to provide safe, reliable transportation for medical appointments, dialysis, physical therapy, and other medical needs.

"Individuals with chronic illnesses already face numerous challenges, and transportation shouldn't be one of them," said Thomas. "We wanted to help by providing safe, dependable transportation through a user-friendly online platform."

The brothers needed the right environment to achieve their vision and expand their family-owned business. Ride YourWay became one of the first tenants to locate at The Bridge, a business incubator space operated by Spartan Innovations, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Michigan State University Research Foundation.

"The Bridge offers the resources we were looking for," said Thomas. "We're surrounded by other healthcare and high-tech startup companies, and we all have access to consultation, events, collaboration opportunities, and other support from Spartan Innovations."

Support from Spartan Innovations included participation in the Conquer Pre-Accelerator program, where Thomas and Bradyn were able to develop a business plan and effective pitches for Ride YourWay, leading to significant operational milestones. One notable achievement is securing a 1-month pilot contract with one of the region’s largest hospital systems.

"This pilot program aims to streamline transportation requests for the hospital,” Thomas continued. “Instead of the traditional scheduling method of calling or emailing a dispatcher and waiting hours or even days for a ride, we’ve transitioned to an on-demand ride fulfillment system through a user-friendly platform. This has the potential to save the healthcare system thousands of dollars and results in happier, healthier patients.”

With the recent addition of their tenth vehicle and ongoing plans for expansion, Ride YourWay has become the first in Michigan to achieve national accreditation from the Non-Emergency Medial Accreditation Commission, and eleventh in the nation. Ride YourWay is well-positioned to contribute to a healthier and happier community.