A photo shows the fare calculator installed in Beijing's ambulances. (Photo/The Beijing News)
Beijing has started charging for ambulance use in the city according to distance, in the same manner as taxis.
Under the new regulations introduced on May 1, patients are only charged for the portion of the trip they are on board the vehicle, rather than making them pay for empty legs of the ambulance trip.
According to the Beijing Morning Post, 50 yuan, or nealry 8 U.S. dollars, will be charged for a distance up to 3 kilometers, with 7 yuan added for each kilometer beyond that.
The paper says the municipal government is hoping the new policy will ease public concern over high bills resulting from using emergency vehicles.
The issue has prompted heated debate online, with some expressing concern that drivers will take roundabout routes when transporting patients, in order to charge higher fares.
One man in Shandong posted that he had to pay 3,600 yuan for an ambulance trip, in order to get his ill father to a hospital 80 kilometers away.
The fee is roughly equal to half the monthly average salary of a worker in Beijing.
Some have commented online that they always believed patients in need had free access to ambulances.
Others, however, believe the new regulation could enhance the efficiency of ambulance trips.
