Australia's first electric ambulance joins St Vincent's fleet You are here:HomeNewsroomNews Australia's first electric ambulance joins St Vincent's fleet 16 Nov 2023 The St Vincent’s Patient Transport department provides critical services to support the Hospital’s patient flow, and are responsible for the safe transportation of approximately 6,000 patients each year, saving the hospital millions of dollars in ambulance fees. Now they’re helping to save our planet. St Vincent’s is the first hospital in Australia to include an electric ambulance it to its fleet. The fully electric van has been purpose built into an ambulance to be used for local discharge and inter-hospital transfers. It is equipped with electric stretcher as well as dual air conditioning with separate batteries. Electric vehicles are significantly cheaper to run including savings in fuel costs of up to 70%, as well as maintenance savings of around 40% due to having less moving parts than a standard vehicle. Additionally, it is fast charging and can travel distances of up to 280km when fully charged, with a quieter, smoother driving experience. The best part, is that the electric ambulance has zero tailpipe emissions, resulting in a tangible decrease of our Hospital’s environmental impact, and is helping us to achieve our sustainability goals. Bob Morris, Transport and Fleet Manager This purchase was made possible by the generous support of the JW & M Cunningham Foundation.