Blood Bike West, a charitable organisation which provides an emergency out-of-hours free service to the HSE in the west of Ireland, now has GPS tracking devices on all its vehicles, thanks to the support of a local telematics company.
Galway company Celtrak Ltd, which donated the GPS devices to Blood Bike West, was also out to support the charity at the recent launch of its new bike, Juliet, at Western Motors, Galway.
“We are delighted to have GPS devices installed on the bikes as it helps us improve communications to the hospitals regarding ETA [estimated time of arrival], it improves rider safety as we know where they are at all times and their status,” said Mike Carty, founding member of Blood Bikes West. “Previous to this the riders had to ring us four times during a call out and now we can simply log onto the system from our phones and see this information. The GPS system also advises us of speeding infringements, which is a key metric we can use to dismiss the myth of bikers driving too fast.”
Celtrak Ltd has also teamed up with Blood Bike East, which has Dublin comedian and 4FM DJ, PJ Gallagher, as both a patron and a volunteer rider.
Like all charities, volunteers are always needed. If you are interested in becoming a bike runner or working as a controller, visit www.bloodbikewest.ie for more information.
