[ethersteeds]

> most of the world has solved it by making ambulance (EMS) funding similar to fire...

About 65% of the more than one million firefighters in the U.S. are volunteers, with nearly 19,000 fire departments being run completely by volunteers.

[cogman10]

A pretty large number of EMS is also volunteers. Basically wherever you have a volunteer fire department, you'll have volunteer EMS (if it's there).

[defrost]

St. John's Ambulance service in Australia is a hybrid of core paid positions and volunteers (varying by region and demand).

In rural Australia most of the fire, ambulance, and emergency response service are volunteer manned and (locally) run, with federal and state assistance for equipment and costs.

Costwise AU Ambulances are either free (if you're a St. John's member - cheap per annum OR if covered by private / work insurance) or (a decade out of date number) a flat fee of $500.

[gkmcd]

I don't think this is true everywhere. Queensland has the QAS[1], operated and funded by the state government. There are no (direct) fees.

[1]https://www.ambulance.qld.gov.au/

[defrost]

Thanks for the response, it's been awhile since I used an ambulance. I've got to say, I was willing to believe, what with free Qld buses and all that jazz, but alas like WA it's "qualified":

  There's no cost for ambulance treatment and transport for Queensland residents. This includes treatment and transport that takes place in other parts of Australia.

and

  If you don’t live in Queensland, you’ll be charged for ambulance treatment and transport. If you have ambulance cover in another state it may cover the cost for you.

https://www.ambulance.qld.gov.au/our-services/emergency-ambu...

[rcbdev]

Yeah. In many countries, EMS is also heavily volunteer-based.

[msftgreed]

You know we can have volunteer supported services be very effective, right?

I volunteer to give blood. No one is paying me, and yet, someone's life is saved by that.

Some folks believe (in fact, this is the thesis statement of much of anarchist theory) that people would largely volunteer to care for one another if their basic needs were met.

Not everything has to be transactional, you can have a government setting up a scaffold that supports and encourages and organizes volunteers and run an effective service.