Development of Route Information System for Ambulance Services using GPS and GIS – A study on Thanjavur town

The improving technologies in this modern world proportion the carelessness of the people in many ways, highlighting the traffic system. The public or ambulance service does not know the nearby location and the level of services provided by the hospitals. The lack of such information may cause several causalities. Hence, the research question arises in a way to answer how to transport patients in the safest and convenient manner. So, ambulance routing and finding feasible path for safe transportation are the probable necessities to avoid traffic and path constraints. The ambulance service, the exemplary gift showered by the nature, to save life, is found handicapped in the present existing condition. Since the urbanization processes hats off in each and every part of the world, the distribution of the shelter for the mankind is very complex. This reflects with the inability of the ambulance driver to reach the spot on time. To avoid these negative conditions, GPS & GIS technologies are used to maintain the objectives of the ambulance system, as presented in this article. A pilot study has been carried out with the road routes, of about 80 km in the enclosed area that extends between 10°44’15. 266’’and 10°48’6. 458’’N latitudes and 79°5’57. 656’’and 79°9’8. 669’’E longitudes of thanjavur town, a high population density region extending its suburban limits day by day. The base map of the road routes in the study area was prepared from google earth supplemented with ground truth information. The spatial data for georeferencing the prepared map was acquired by a handheld GPS (Trimble). The GIS software was used (ArcGIS 8.1.1 version) in linking the spatial data with attributes like ambulance spots and other places to reach, the ambulance is proposed to move and length of the roads (for drivers to reach the destination on time). Subsequently, training has been given to the ambulance driver on the approach developed and the drivers applauded the same.