Ambuscooter Debuts in Tel Aviv as United Hatzalah Launches New Rapid-Response Vehicle
United Hatzalah introduced a fully electric emergency scooter in Tel Aviv on Monday, marking the organization’s latest effort to shorten its response times to roughly 90 seconds from the moment a call reaches its dispatch center. The new vehicle, known as the Ambuscooter, is built to maneuver through crowded streets and reach locations that traditional ambulances and even Ambucycles often cannot access quickly.
The launch event, held at Park HaTachana in the Neve Zedek neighborhood, showcased a pilot program that United Hatzalah leaders described as a turning point in urban emergency care. The lightweight scooter was engineered to carry a full advanced medical kit while maintaining stability and speed amid tight city corridors, outdoor markets, and beachfront paths.
Public interest in the unveiling was heightened by a year of national discussion about Israel’s overall preparedness for crises, following war and severe weather incidents across the country. The organization highlighted the Ambuscooter as both a technological advance and a practical tool for volunteers who frequently struggle to reach patients within the critical first minutes of an emergency.
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United Hatzalah Founder and President Eli Beer told attendees that innovation is essential to saving lives. “Emergency care goes beyond professionally trained first responders,” he said. “It is contingent on people who are willing to think differently and develop new ways to reach a patient quickly and reliably in real streets and real traffic. The Ambuscooter reflects our commitment to innovation just as deeply as our commitment to saving lives.”
Volunteers demonstrated the scooter’s maneuverability during the ceremony, steering it through crowded pedestrian areas and along Tel Aviv’s promenade. The vehicle’s reinforced storage compartment holds oxygen, bandages, a defibrillator, and other lifesaving tools. Its wide tires, dual braking systems, and strengthened chassis allow it to carry up to one hundred and twenty kilograms of equipment without losing agility.
A longtime United Hatzalah medic said the vehicle addresses a daily challenge. “Tel Aviv is not an easy city to cross when someone’s life depends on it,” he explained. He noted that Ambucycles already outperform ambulances but cannot access every location quickly, adding that the new scooter “will help me reach those patients without losing that time. It will help me save lives.”
Initial Ambuscooter units will operate in central Tel Aviv, with additional deployments planned for other parts of the city and Jerusalem in the months ahead.
