Uber is a globally renowned ride-hailing service. The company started offering its services in Pakistan in March and has been subject to a mixed reaction, getting both positive responses along with negative ones owing to a few unfortunate events.
A report by the University of Kansas has revealed that cities having Uber have low rates of ambulance usage. This can be due to the fact that people who have to get to emergency wards are unable to drive themselves and ambulances can cost a lot if an individual is uninsured.
This is where the ride-hailing service steps in. People have started using Uber to get to hospitals in emergency situations. This has helped free up ambulances to deal with actual emergencies and give adequate treatment to patients during the journey, which can be vital in saving lives.
The report has been drafted after an economic study by the UoK, which includes data taking 766 cities of USA into account. It considered the time when Uber initiated services in each of the 766 cities and observed a 7% reduction in ambulance usage.
The report also states that costly transportation is a huge barrier between the provision of cost-effective healthcare to the public. It has been revealed that lack of cheap transport often deters individuals from visiting hospitals, which puts their health at risk.
This is a major relief for the company itself, which is still recovering from the blow to its reputation after it was discovered that it paid $100,000 to hackers to keep silent about a data breach.
