7 April 2026
Regional ambulance crisis deepens as taxis used to transport patients and paramedics
The Nationals Member for Euroa, Annabelle Cleeland MP, has sounded the alarm on the worsening ambulance crisis across regional Victoria, revealing that local taxis are increasingly being relied upon to transport patients and paramedics.
Ms Cleeland said the situation has reached a critical point, with frontline services stretched so thin that stopgap measures are becoming routine.
“This is a system under real strain, and it is regional communities who are bearing the consequences,” Ms Cleeland said.
“It is deeply concerning that taxis are being used in place of ambulances. These vehicles are not equipped for medical emergencies, and drivers are not trained to provide urgent care.”
The issue was brought to light by a local taxi driver, who detailed the types of jobs he has been asked to undertake due to ambulance shortages.
According to the driver, he has transported patients with serious injuries, including broken legs and arms, conditions that would ordinarily require ambulance support.
“These are people in pain, often unable to move, who should be receiving care on the way to hospital, not sitting in the back of a taxi without support,” Ms Cleeland said.
“This places patients at risk and puts drivers in an incredibly difficult and unfair position.”
Ms Cleeland said the problem extends beyond patient transport, with taxis also being used to move paramedics between towns to fill workforce gaps.
“In some cases, paramedics are being driven from one station to another in taxis just to maintain minimum coverage,” she said.
“That is not a system working as it should. It is a system being stretched beyond its limits.”
Ms Cleeland warned that regional Victorians are being asked to accept a lower standard of care.
“Every Victorian should have confidence that when they call for an ambulance, a properly equipped vehicle with trained paramedics will arrive,” she said.
“Right now, what we are seeing is a patchwork response, where taxis are filling the gaps of an under-resourced system.”
Ms Cleeland is calling on the Victorian Government to urgently address workforce shortages, strengthen regional resourcing, and restore confidence in emergency response.
“This is about safety. It is about dignity. And it is about making sure regional families are not left behind,” she said.
“Communities like ours deserve a system they can rely on, not one that is holding together by workaround solutions.”