Human hauling: bike ambulances

I imagine the mention of bicycle ambulances in my last post might have caused some of you take pause. Perhaps you had the thought, if there ever was a time for a motor vehicle the transport of my broken/bleeding body is surely it. This is not a point I am prepared to argue (if you will remember I was driven to the doctors for only pinkeye).

I think, to form a model of a car free existence that is a viable option for everyone, it is important to be aware of the ways in which your world makes it possible for you to choose to be without a car. On some levels a "car free" existence relies on the existence of cars. I can feel secure that if I need one I will have a high speed motor vehicle, an ambulance, at my disposal.

From this vantage the bike ambulance idea is perhaps more conceivable in the context of a rural area, far from medical facilities, and where existence is de facto carless.

The organization BEN Namibia currently runs a project devoted to providing bike ambulances to Namibian towns where the need for patient emergency transport is great (HIV/AIDs rates hovering around 20%) and resources required for such transport inadequate. From the community bike cart design website.

BEN Namibia’s work delivering bicycles to home-based care volunteers in the North has demonstrated that there is an enormous need for emergency transport solutions for care of people living with HIV/AIDS. In other African countries where bicycle ambulances are in use, there have been increases in access to health care and marked declines in infant and maternal mortality rates. Because our ambulances are being used through HIV/AIDS HBC networks, we anticipate a high percentage of transports to be HIV/AIDS related. BEN Namibia is addressing the need for data on transport of HIV/AIDS patients

BEN Namibia places the cost per ambulance at around $530. If you are in need of a worthy cause to donate some cash to, I'd check them out.