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Blinkit Ambulance is no longer entirely free

By · Published by Everything Blog

In short

The operational change follows heavy usage of the 10-minute ambulance fleet for non-urgent tasks like traveling home from hospitals. Over the past two years, the service managed roughly 42,000 cases, with emergency calls representing under half of the total volume. In response, leadership plans to deter non-critical bookings so medical resources remain ready for severe incidents. Blinkit aims to broaden the network into major Indian cities within the next four years.

Key points

  • Non-emergency fees will be routed to the Eternal Foundation to help fund ambulance fleet…: Non-emergency fees will be routed to the Eternal Foundation to help fund ambulance fleet operations.
  • Critical and emergency patient transfers will continue to be provided free of any charges.: Critical and emergency patient transfers will continue to be provided free of any charges.
  • The shortage of trained and empathetic paramedics remains the primary bottleneck for scal…: The shortage of trained and empathetic paramedics remains the primary bottleneck for scaling the service.

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"I started Zomato with a spirit of service. Blinkit Ambulance is what that spirit of service looks like today," Goyal wrote.

Blinkit Ambulance: Why is Rs 2,500 being charged for non-emergency trips?

Explaining the reason behind the change, Goyal said the free service had increasingly been used for routine check-ups, hospital visits and transfers from hospitals to homes.Read more - Nitin Gadkari wants to change how India's city roads are built; after highways, he's turning his attention to engineers, quality and accountability

He pointed out that such journeys could often be managed through private transport or ride-hailing services, while their bookings kept emergency ambulances occupied.

"With everything free, a growing share of bookings are for routine checkups, hospital visits and hospital-to-home transfers, trips that an Uber or private transport could have handled just as easily. Every such booking keeps a fully equipped emergency ambulance with paramedics off the road when someone's life may depend on it," he said.

Under the revised structure, emergency transfers will remain free of charge, while non-emergency transfers will…

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