Super-Rich Russians Beat The Traffic In Ambulance Taxis

[Raistlin]

When stuck in horrendous rush hour traffic, who hasn’t secretly wished they could slide a flashing light onto the roof of their car, fire up the sirens and take off through the gridlock Starsky and Hutch style? Well, it seems Russia’s super rich have started living the dream with their own personal luxury taxis disguised as ambulances.

Nobody dodges a traffic jam like the emergency services but most right-thinking citizens would shudder at the thought of impersonating an ambulance on an errand of mercy just to get to work a bit quicker.

...the interior was fitted out like a high-class limousine

Not in Moscow, where random police checks on ‘ambulances’ have been introduced to curb the spate of companies advertising “ambulance taxis” for upwards of 6,000 roubles (£130) per hour.

A law enforcement source told the Izvestiya newspaper that one of these vehicles has already been identified:

“During a patrol, a medical car was stopped because it was breaking traffic rules.”

“The driver appeared strange, and did not resemble an ambulance driver at all. Police officers opened the automobile to check it and saw that the interior was fitted out like a high-class limousine with comfortable seats for transporting VIP passengers.”

Moscow is famous for its traffic problems which are compounded by bad parking, a lack of restrictions on driving in the city centre and regular Police road-blocks made to speed the progress of government officials traveling to and from the Kremlin. The Ambulance taxis provide a luxurious way of scything through the traffic and running red lights for wealthy Russians willing to break the law and sling their moral compasses in the Moskva river.