New Partnership to Bring Faster EMS Care to Israel’s Cities
A new partnership deal was struck between United Hatzalah and City Transformer, a company that makes all-electric compact vehicles for city centers.

Illustration/City Transformer

A new partnership deal was struck between United Hatzalah and City Transformer, a company that makes all-electric compact vehicles for city centers. The agreement will see the EMS organization become the first corporate customer of the innovative urban vehicle. According to the agreement, the vehicles will be offered for use by the organization’s volunteers in a shared fleet vehicle format. The deal is for 1,000 units to be used in various cities in Israel and is worth $22 million. The deal will allow United Hatzalah’s network of volunteers to locate one of the City Transformer car-sharing vehicles and use it to respond to medical emergencies in the vicinity when needed. 

The initial solution that the City Transformer was intended for, was to alleviate the congestion caused by traffic and parking on city streets in urban centers. Through its unique patent that expands and reduces the wheelbase as needed, the City Transformer solves the problem of driving and parking in tight areas. United Hatzalah will be using the vehicles for the means of saving lives and not just saving time or money, as it was initially intended for.

Dr. Asaf Formoza, the CEO of City Transformer, announced on Tuesday the signing of their first deal with United Hatzalah. The electric vehicle manufacturer will provide a dedicated model equipped to be used as a first-aid vehicle to volunteers selected by the organization. 

This deal is bigger than just an innovative vehicle providing services for a large organization. It is also the debut of shared fleet vehicles in the field of emergency services. 

The operating concept of these vehicles is similar to the use of shared fleet vehicles. The vehicles will be strategically positioned throughout the city at strategic points. Upon receiving a notification of an emergency, any of the organization’s 6,000 volunteers, who make up the national network of first responders that responds to about 2,000 calls a day across the country, will be able to rush to the nearest vehicle and drive to the incident. The identification, opening, and operation of the vehicle will be done through the app on the volunteer’s device. The address of the emergency will be pre-entered into the vehicle navigation software by the United Hatzalah Dispatch Center which will be directly linked to the vehicle.

As part of the deal, 50 vehicles will be provided upfront, with several hundred more units expected to join within the next five years. The total number of vehicles involved in the agreement that City Transformer will provide will be about 1,000 units. The value of the deal is estimated at $22 million. The date of delivery was not specified, but in the past, the company stated that Israel will be one of the first markets to which the company will penetrate and that it intends to do so as early as 2023.

The deal was struck between United Hatzalah and City Transformer, a company that makes all-electric compact vehicles for city centers.

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