I was walking up to the corner near my office when I saw a flash of yellow go by on the main road ahead, accompanied by a siren. It was one of our ambulances—a good sight to see in the heart of Mumbai. Just after it raced by in one direction, a man went galloping by on a white horse in the other direction. He was followed by another man walking down the road with 10 large pipes on his shoulder, transporting them to a building site. There’s a little bit of everything on the roads in Mumbai, and these contrasts are a good reminder that a modern, brightly colored ambulance really stands out on the streets here–especially when it’s moving fast.
I don’t have any solid evidence, but I imagine that some people may be hesitant to call an ambulance because they so often see them stuck in traffic with their sirens on, no one pulling to the side to let them go past. How do we help create a culture of making way for ambulances on the roads? Not only would this allow us to provide better service in emergencies—from a marketing perspective, it will also help people associate ambulances with speed and make them more likely to use one in an emergency.