New Delhi, November 5, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Quick commerce platform Blinkit on Thursday introduced a flat fee of Rs 2,500 for non-emergency ambulance bookings, while keeping emergency transfers free of charge. The move aims to ensure that its ambulance fleet remains available for critical medical situations.
Deepinder Goyal, founder of Eternal, said the decision followed a rise in ambulance bookings for routine requirements such as doctor consultations, regular check-ups and hospital-to-home transfers, which could be handled through conventional transport services.
According to Goyal, Blinkit’s ambulance service has handled around 42,000 cases over the past two years, including nearly 20,000 emergency cases, without charging patients.
“I started Zomato with a spirit of service. Blinkit Ambulance is what that spirit of service looks like today. In the last 2 years, we have served 20,000 emergency cases (42,000 cases in total). We haven’t charged a single rupee for any of them. And we want to keep it that way,” Goyal said.
Explaining the change, he said the growing use of ambulances for routine travel was keeping fully equipped emergency vehicles and paramedics away from situations where lives could be at risk.
Under the revised policy, emergency transfers will continue to be free, while non-emergency transfers will attract a fee of Rs 2,500, payable after the trip. Goyal said the charge was broadly in line with private ambulance rates.
He added that the money collected would go to the Eternal Foundation, which operates the ambulances and would use the funds to expand the service.
Goyal said the company expects the fee to reduce non-emergency bookings and improve the availability of its 10-minute ambulance service for life-threatening situations.
“10-minute ambulances have saved and can save thousands of lives, and we need to keep them available for emergencies that need them the most,” he said in a post on X.
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