Policy loophole leaves ambulance services in legal lurch

On paper, the ambulance is not for rent but in reality, using any of the estimated 11,000 emergency vehicles that run across the country is not free – their fares are, in fact, pretty high.

The lack of a policy on ambulances, operated by hospitals and rental services, is depriving the government of revenue, making it hard for operators and forcing the general people to bear the brunt.

Ambulances are used for transporting sick or wounded individuals. Ambulance owners said the emergency vehicles are registered as ‘Not for Rent’ by the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) but they are operated on a rental basis to meet public demand.

Ambulances have long been getting registration as private vehicles against institutions or firms, not individuals,” Sk Md Mahbub-E-Rabbani, a director of BRTA, told The Business Post.

Ambulance owners said they requested the government to form a policy to bring their business under a legal framework to reduce costs and other hassles.

Govt losing revenue

Stakeholders said that the government is losing revenue as ambulances get tax rebates during import, the people suffer as there is no government control on its rent while ambulance owners often get harassed by police for operating “illegally”.

Rabbani explained that ambulance service is for healthcare institutions or large companies to carry patients or ill employees. “Since ambulance’s commercial use is illegal, BRTA takes legal actions against errant owners of such ambulances,” he said.

Mozammel Hoque Chowdhury, Secretary-General of Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samity, told The Business Post that the current legal structure formulated by the British did not protect the people’s interests.

He called for reforming the law and developing a policy on ambulance operations to ensure public welfare.

Number of ambulances rises

The number of ambulances hitting the streets is rising as businesses are spending more on importing such vehicles amid an increase in demand during the pandemic.

Between 2010 and May this year, 7,076 ambulances, including 4,821 in Dhaka, obtained licenses, according to BRTA.

In 2018, BRTA registered 563 ambulances. The next year, the number rose to 665 and last year, 788 vehicles got registered as ambulances.

Around 680 private ambulance service providers are operating over 3,000 ambulances in the capital city, according to Dhaka Metropolitan Ambulance Owners’ Association.

Business insiders estimated that over 10,000 ambulances run privately across the country, meeting 95 per cent of demand – the other 5 per cent is met by 900 government ambulances.

Higher rent, legal loopholes

Ambulance users said the rent was much higher than other transport services though the emergency vehicles get facilities including import tax waiver and registration fee rebate.

Private ambulances charge rents depending on the patients’ conditions. They have a strong syndicate that impose higher fares, said Shamsul Alam, elder brother of a patient admitted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital from a village of Ghatail in Tangail last week.

He said he had to pay Tk 8,000 for his trip to DMCH from his village while a private car charges only Tk 3,000. “The government should set a minimum rent to save us from this anarchic situation,” he added.

But BRTA officials clarified that they had no control over ambulance rent because they did not register for commercial use.

Kept illegal?

Ambulance owners said they have repeatedly asked the government to amend the motor vehicle rules but to no avail. The government only gives assurance, they said.

BRTA officials said many hospitals used ambulances to transport their employees instead of patients, while some microbuses were modified to work as ambulances to carry patients.

Bangladesh Ambulance Owners Association President Golam Mustafa told The Business Post that private ambulances provide essential public service but the commercial use has not been officially legalised.

“It’s intentional,” he said.

Dhaka Metropolitan Ambulance Owners’ Association General Secretary Md Liton Khan said rental ambulance services are getting popular as the government and private clinics failed to meet the growing demand for emergency vehicles.

“People benefit from rental ambulance services but the government is not removing the legal barriers,’’ he told The Business Post.

Government ambulances charge a fee for carrying patients, which is collected by the hospital authorities.

People bear the brunt

Government-owned ambulances, including 402 in upazila health complexes, are providing services at a relatively lower cost.

Directorate General of Health Services Director (Hospital) Md Farid Hossain Miah said they have no control over the service quality of ambulances as well as their rents as ambulance operators are not accountable to the health department.

Ambulance owners accused the traffic police of fining them, taking advantage of the legal loophole, which pushed up their operational costs and ultimately, the general people feel the impact.

Momin Ali, the owner of Alif Ambulance Services, which operates 16 ambulances, said that the government could earn revenue by bringing the emergency vehicles under regulation, which will, in turn, help businesses run legally.

BRTA Chairman Nur Mohammad Mazumder said that they need the higher authority’s approval to change the existing rules and regulations regarding ambulances.