NY: Ambulances have GPS, but only to track their location; must use paper maps for directions

The city's ambulance fleet is equipped with high-priced GPS - but paramedics still rely on time-consuming paper maps to get to and from emergencies.

That's because the global positioning systems are designed only to let the FDNY keep track of the rigs, not provide directions on the ground.

"People have to keep maps in the ambulance," one veteran city paramedic said.

"It's fine if you are assigned to neighborhoods you know, but we have people who live in the Bronx or Staten Island driving in Brooklyn. It can get hairy."

City ambulances have had GPS since 2005, installed by Motorola at a cost of $10,000 per ambulance and dubbed the Automatic Vehicle Locator.

It lets the Fire Department know where its 236 ambulances are at any given moment - and city officials say it's cut 30-plus seconds off response time since being installed.

But it doesn't help the driver navigate the streets, and some rank-and-file say that's an upgrade they need.

"They need to listen to the people in the field, actually doing the job, for what needs to change," said Vincent Variale, president of the Uniformed EMS Officers Union.

Ambulance crews are assigned jobs through a small computer that gives the address of a 911 call and a few lines about the nature of the illness or injury - but no directions on how to get there.

Fire Department insiders say since paramedics often work in the same area day after day, GPS wasn't seen as crucial. But some EMTs say it's on their wish list.

"I am not from Queens, and working here with the whole 68th Ave., 68th Place, 68th Road, 68th Drive, 68th Street can drive you crazy," one EMT said.

"I bring my own GPS system from my car, but you can only use that on nonemergencies because it takes too long to punch in the information."

The FDNY has been tinkering with the system.

A trial upgrade made last week means the GPS now supplies the street location of ambulances instead of longitude and latitude coordinates within designated sectors.

There are no immediate plans to overhaul the system so it provides the kind of directions readily available to anyone with a smartphone; sources say cost is an issue.

And FDNY officials defended the system in place now.

"[It] has been tremendously helpful and has quickened our ability to respond to medical emergencies," FDNY spokesman Steve Ritea said.

"It allows us to know the exact location of all units at any given time so we can send the closest ambulance."