User guide
How to read a record, what each badge means, what to trust at a glance, and when to verify by phone before relying. Written for non-technical readers — doctors, journalists, researchers, NGOs, family caregivers. The API reference is for developers.
The freshness badge — the most important thing on every record
Every provider and hospital carries one badge:
| Badge | Meaning | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| verified | Confirmed by a phone call within the last 30 days. | Most trustworthy. Tap to call. |
| stale | Verified 30–60 days ago. Probably still works but uncertain. | Tap to call. If it doesn't answer, tap the "✗ Number didn't work" link so we re-verify. |
| source-published | Number / details published by the provider themselves on their own website, hospital page, or government listing. We haven't independently called to confirm, but the provider stands behind it publicly. | Should work. Tap to call. If it doesn't, the "Number didn't work" link sends it for re-verification. |
| unverified | Compiled from a third-party source only (search listings, scraped directories). Not yet confirmed by anyone we trust. | Tap to call but be prepared to try 108 if it doesn't go through. Lowest trust tier among the live badges. |
| dead | Unreachable across multiple attempts. Hidden from search but visible in deep links + public Git history. | Don't rely on it. Dial 108. |
| disputed | The provider has contested some part of the record. | Read the dispute note on the record page before trusting. |
Vehicle types — what the abbreviations mean
- BLS — Basic Life Support. Oxygen, first aid, stretcher. For non-critical transport.
- ALS — Advanced Life Support. BLS + defibrillator + paramedic. For cardiac, stroke, trauma.
- MICU — Mobile Intensive Care Unit. Ventilator, ICU-grade monitoring, doctor on board. For critical-care transfers.
- PTA — Patient Transport Ambulance. Non-emergency, planned transfers.
- Neonatal — Specialised for newborns, incubator-equipped.
- Cardiac — Heart-attack-focused ALS, may include thrombolysis.
- Mortuary — Transfer of deceased. Not an emergency vehicle.
Confirm the vehicle type when you call. A BLS sent to a cardiac arrest is dangerous — better to wait 5 more minutes for an ALS.
Provider types
- govt-108 — State emergency medical service. Free at point of use. Dispatched centrally; you don't choose a specific vehicle.
- private-aggregator — A booking-app company (RED.Health, Medulance, etc.) that brokers across multiple providers.
- private-standalone — A single private operator with their own fleet.
- hospital-owned — Operated by a hospital, typically for transfers in or out of their facility.
- ngo — Charitable / not-for-profit service.
- charitable — Religious trust or community-funded.
The IVR-routing chip — why some numbers route through a menu
Big chain hospitals (Apollo, Manipal, Fortis, Max, Narayana) publish a single national helpline that routes by IVR menu — typically "press 5 for ambulance." Records that share these numbers show a small amber chip below the call button explaining the menu. If you're under time pressure, dial 108 instead of the chain helpline — you avoid the menu.
"What users report" — historical, not real-time
Below most provider records you'll see aggregate stats from past user calls — answer rate, dispatch rate, median response time, fare dispersion. These are historical observations of what *did* happen, not predictions of what will happen now. A 90% answer rate over 50 reports does not guarantee they'll answer this minute.
Fares — what's published vs what gets charged
Fares come from two channels:
- Provider-claimed — what the provider told us on our verification call.
- User-reported — what users actually paid on real calls (visible in the aggregated stats).
A divergence between the two is normal — surge pricing, distance variance, equipment use can all push the actual fare above the published base. Always confirm the fare on the call, before the vehicle dispatches.
Hospital affiliations — what an edge means
A hospital affiliation edge means: this hospital's published Emergency Room number routes calls to this provider, with a source citation. It does NOT mean:
- Exclusive contract (unless the badge says so).
- Kickback or financial relationship (we never assert motive without a public document).
- Endorsement by us.
It's a factual observation about ER routing, which is useful when comparing alternatives a hospital might not surface unprompted.
Sources — every claim has a citation
Every record has a sources array. Each source is one of:
website— provider's own website at a specific date.phone-verification— a logged call we placed.rti-response— official answer to an RTI we filed.govt-listing— published government data.press-report— a news article we're citing as supporting evidence.hospital-listing— a hospital's own publication.osm— OpenStreetMap node.google-places— Google Places API.justdial— JustDial listing (used sparingly, low trust).contributor-pr— community contribution via GitHub.
If a record makes a claim and you can't find a source for it, that's a bug — please file a correction.
When to call 108 instead of using this site
Always call 108 first if:
- The patient is in a life-threatening state.
- You don't have an internet connection.
- You're in a remote area where this site shows few alternatives.
- You're in any kind of acute distress that interferes with following a multi-step flow.
Use this site for:
- Planning ahead (saving providers for an elderly parent).
- Comparing fares before a non-emergency transfer.
- Finding a specific vehicle type (MICU for a critical-care transfer).
- Researching the affiliation graph for journalism or policy work.
- Calling when 108 is unreachable or has put you on hold.
How to contribute
Three paths, from least to most involved:
- Tap "✗ Number didn't work" on a record where the number failed — 10 seconds, the maintainer re-verifies.
- Submit a "report your call experience" from a provider page — 2 minutes, becomes part of the aggregated stats.
- Open a PR on GitHub with new data, corrections, or translations — see FIRST-CONTRIBUTORS.md.
FAQ
Why aren't there more verified records?
Because verification requires a real phone call by a real human, and the maintainer is one person. The verification rate scales with volunteers — see /host/captain.
Why doesn't this work like Google Maps?
Google Maps shows business listings — we publish a curated directory with sources, verification cadence, and affiliations. Different category. We're closer to OpenStreetMap or OAQ in posture.
Can I trust the dataset for medical-legal use?
The data is for research, planning, and informed decision-making. Not a substitute for live verification or 108. See the disclaimer.
Is my pincode / location ever sent to a server?
No. Geolocation runs in your browser and the result is used client-side to sort the provider list. We don't log it.
Can my hospital embed this on our patient portal?
Yes — under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, non-commercial patient-care use. See the embed widget. If you want to monetise the embed, email us for a commercial licence.
See also: API reference · how this site works · disclaimer · license.