Transportation
What Happens to Ambulance Calls When Uber Enters a City
In cities where the popular ride-sharing app is used, ambulance usage went down by 7 percent, according to a new study.
In cities where ride-sharing apps proliferate, patients are potentially saving thousands of dollars and alleviating the burden on emergency systems by traveling to the hospital in an Uber instead of an ambulance, according to a new study.
Economists at the University of Kansas analyzed ambulances deployed in the more than 700 cities where UberX cars are available, and found that in the time after Uber entered a given city, there was at least a 7 percent decrease in rate of ambulance use.