Ambulance service makes savings through tyre partnership

Eight months into a new three- year deal with ATS Euromaster, tyre replacements have been reduced by 20 per cent which equals a huge saving for a fleet which covers thousands of miles a week.

The three-year deal secured via the Government Procurement Service tyre framework agreement means ATS technicians have been fitting precision Michelin tyres to the Trust’s vehicles, which include more than 280 emergency ambulances, 200 rapid-response vehicles and 460 patient transport service vehicles.

And simply by putting the best-suited tyres on each vehicle the Trust now gets the maximum mileage out of every tyre, significantly reducing the fleet’s bills.

Gary Walden, accident reduction manager at YAS, said: “Our fleet covers a vast area of almost 6,000 square miles from busy urban areas through to isolated moors and dales.

“Our vehicles cover thousands of miles every week, often making swift progress to patients under blue lights and sirens.

“As such, our tyres are worked very hard and optimising our fitment and service strategy is key.

“Thanks to our new partnership, we’ve made great in-roads and the impact on our running costs is evident.”

The Trust handles an average of 2,180 emergency calls a day and operates from 62 ambulance stations located across the county.

As part of the new deal it held trials during the winter of cold weather tyres on a number of its vehicles to help better prepare for usually harsh Yorkshire winters, Mr Walden said.

He said: “So far the tyres have performed well, but we’re looking to see how they cope in even colder conditions and how they fare as it warms up.

“If we see the safety benefits we expect to and no impact on handling when the weather turns, we will consider rolling them out across the fleet.”

The contract also gives the ambulance service access to ATS Euromaster’s 24/7 roadside rapid-response service, which gets emergency vehicles back on the road as quickly as possible.