In Phoenix, not every medical 911 call results in an ambulance ride to the hospital. Sometimes, the fire department calls for a taxi to take the person to the hospital instead. The number of taxi rides is growing — overwhelmingly so for people in poor neighborhoods — as fire officials wrestle with more calls and limited resources. The little-known operation, known as the taxi-voucher program, is billed as a way to tend to medical transports not deemed emergencies. Taxi vouchers are paid for by the city and cost a fraction of an ambulance ride.

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