Article content

Police in Moscow are to carry out checks on ambulances after reports that emergency vehicles have been fitted with plush interiors and are being rented out to VIP commuters hoping to dodge the city’s appalling traffic jams.

They face random checks after companies advertising rides in “ambulance-taxis” for upwards of 6,000 roubles ($200) per hour appeared on the internet.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Russia's rich hiring luxurious 'ambulance-taxis' to beat Moscow's traffic jams Back to video

The vehicles are said to use their sirens to scatter traffic and deliver harried businessman to meetings on time.

A law enforcement source told Izvestiya newspaper that one such vehicle had already been identified. “During a patrol, a medical car was stopped because it was breaking traffic rules,” said the source.

“The driver appeared strange, and did not resemble an ambulance driver at all.

“Police officers opened the automobile to check it and saw that the interior was fitted out like a high-class limousine with comfortable seats for transporting VIP passengers.”