Zomato founder Deepinder Goyal on Thursday has announced that Blinkit Ambulance is set to introduce a charge of Rs.2,500 for non-emergency transfers, while emergency ambulance services will continue to remain free. In a post on X, Goyal stated that the decision was aimed at ensuring that fully equipped emergency ambulances remain available for patients who need immediate medical assistance.
The announcement came in response to an X post by a user, who stated that Blinkit ambulance had saved his grandmother's life after she experienced a sudden medical emergency. The user said that the ambulance reached their home in eight minutes and transported his grandmother to the emergency ward safely and promptly.
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Responding to the post, Goyal said that he had started Zomato with a "spirit of service", adding that Blinkit Ambulance represented how that philosophy had evolved. He stated that the service has handled approximately 42,000 cases in total, including around 20,000 emergency cases over the last two years. He added that the company had not charged users for any of these services and wanted to continue provide emergency assistance free of cost.
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However, Goyal noted that the absence of charges had resulted in an increasing number of bookings for routine checkups, hospital visits and hospital-to-home transfers. "With everything free, a growing share of bookings are for routine checkups, hospital visits and hospital-to-home transfers, trips that an Uber or private transport could have handled just as easily. Every such booking keeps a fully equipped emergency ambulance with paramedics off the road when someone's life may depend on it," he said.
Goyal said that from now onwards, non-emergency transfers would cost Rs.2,500, with the amount being charged after the trip. Emergency transfers, however, would continue to remain free. He added that the fee was broadly in line with the charges levied by private ambulance operators.
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. With everything free, a growing share of bookings are for routine checkups, hospital visits and hospital-to-home transfers, trips that an Uber or private transport could have handled just as easily. Every such booking keeps a fully equipped emergency ambulance with paramedics off the road when someone's life may depend on it. So we are making a change from now onwards: Emergency transfers – free, as always. Non-emergency transfers – ₹2,500, charged after the trip. Broadly in line with what private ambulances charge. This money goes to Eternal Foundation, which runs these ambulances and will help us scale them even further. We hope that this charge will dramatically drop the usage of our Ambulances for non-emergency cases. 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. One more thing. Scaling high quality ambulances is hard. The biggest bottleneck is trained, empathic paramedics. Our training academy is scaling as fast as we can without compromising on quality, and @albinder and team are committed to bringing Blinkit Ambulance to all major cities in India in the next 2-4 years. Stay well, and I pray you don't need us. @sparsh_sehgal – I wish your grandma a speedy recovery, and I am so glad we were able to be there on time.
— Deepinder Goyal (@deepigoyal) November 5, 2026
According to Goyal, the money collected would go to the Eternal Foundation, which operates the ambulances and that they would use the funds to help expand the service. The company hopes the new charge will significantly reduce the use of emergency ambulances for non-emergency purposes. Goyal explained that every ambulance assigned to a routine hospital visit or transfer could be unavailable when a patient faces a life-threatening emergency.
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