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Empirical Analysis of Ambulance Travel Times: The Case of Calgary Emergency Medical Services

Author

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  • Susan Budge

    (School of Business, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2R6, Canada)

  • Armann Ingolfsson

    (School of Business, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2R6, Canada)

  • Dawit Zerom

    (Mihaylo College of Business and Economics, California State University, Fullerton, Fullerton, California 92834)

Abstract

Using administrative data for high-priority calls in Calgary, Alberta, we estimate how ambulance travel times depend on distance. We find that a logarithmic transformation produces symmetric travel-time distributions with heavier tails than those of a normal distribution. Guided by nonparametric estimates of the median and coefficient of variation, we demonstrate that a previously proposed model for mean fire engine travel times is a valid and useful description of median ambulance travel times. We propose a new specification for the coefficient of variation, which decreases with distance. We illustrate how the resulting travel-time distribution model can be used to create probability-of-coverage maps for diagnosis and improvement of system performance.

Suggested Citation

  • Susan Budge & Armann Ingolfsson & Dawit Zerom, 2010. "Empirical Analysis of Ambulance Travel Times: The Case of Calgary Emergency Medical Services," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 56(4), pages 716-723, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:ormnsc:v:56:y:2010:i:4:p:716-723
    DOI: 10.1287/mnsc.1090.1142
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    4. Akbar Karimi & Michel Gendreau & Vedat Verter, 2018. "Performance Approximation of Emergency Service Systems with Priorities and Partial Backups," Transportation Science, INFORMS, vol. 52(5), pages 1235-1252, October.
    5. Peter J. Kolesar, 2012. "OM Forum --Some Lessons on Operations Management Model Implementation Drawn from the RAND Fire Project," Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, INFORMS, vol. 14(1), pages 1-6, January.
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    7. Wilson, Duncan T. & Hawe, Glenn I. & Coates, Graham & Crouch, Roger S., 2013. "A multi-objective combinatorial model of casualty processing in major incident response," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 230(3), pages 643-655.
    8. Delasay, Mohammad & Ingolfsson, Armann & Kolfal, Bora & Schultz, Kenneth, 2019. "Load effect on service times," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 279(3), pages 673-686.
    9. Schmid, Verena & Doerner, Karl F., 2010. "Ambulance location and relocation problems with time-dependent travel times," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 207(3), pages 1293-1303, December.
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    15. EunSu Lee & Melanie McDonald & Erin O’Neill & William Montgomery, 2021. "Statewide Ambulance Coverage of a Mixed Region of Urban, Rural and Frontier under Travel Time Catchment Areas," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(5), pages 1-21, March.
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    17. Lv, Wei & Li, Hongyi & Tang, Jiafu, 2017. "Bargaining model of labor disputes considering social mediation and bounded rationalityAuthor-Name: Liu, Dehai," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 262(3), pages 1064-1071.
    18. Zvi Drezner & Vladimir Marianov & George O. Wesolowsky, 2016. "Maximizing the minimum cover probability by emergency facilities," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 246(1), pages 349-362, November.
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