Wealthy Russians Hiring Ambulances to Cut Through Moscow Traffic

11 years, 7 months ago - 1 April 2013, Autoblog
Wealthy Russians Hiring Ambulances to Cut Through Moscow Traffic
We're not sure how widespread the practice is, but the option is apparently out there: Russian police have discovered companies on the Internet offering rides in "ambulance-taxis" through notoriously bad Moscow traffic.

For roughly 6,000 rubles per hour – about $193 US, which doesn't sound like much for a wealthy Russian – the 'customer' will get to cut through gridlock in an ambulance with flashing lights and the proper paint scheme outside but a refitted, leather-lined interior.

Police say they've already stopped one ambulance with a "strange" driver that was found to have a bunch of people in civilian clothing in the back. The National Post reports that police have been told to keep an eye on the emergency-looking vehicles and to make sure they're actually being used for emergencies, which would appear to mean they're going to be tailing and perhaps stopping ambulances that are actually in the middle of emergency services. And that can't be good for anyone.