108 ambulance service to change hands

JAIPUR: The current operator of the 108 ambulance service has been outbid by another service provider for the next three years of operation.
As the bids were opened on Wednesday, “Dial 1298 for Ambulance” emerged as the lowest bidder replacing the current operator, EMRI. Even as the health officials refused to comment, the hand over of the service is now just a formality.
The new entrant has been operating in Mumbai and Bihar under emergency number 1298.
In Rajasthan, the emergency number will continue to remain 108 due to the widespread acceptance of the current service. The operator has proposed to provide a per ambulance average of four trips a day, the service criteria similar to the existing model and cut down the average reporting time of ambulance.
The government will have to pay the service provider a monthly expense of less than Rs 1 lakh per ambulance.
The new development has created uncertainty among the staff of the ambulance service.