25 Years on Two Wheels: Celebrating Niagara EMS Bike Medics
Celebrating a Quarter-Century of Niagara EMS Bike Medics in the Niagara Falls Tourist District
Authored by: Joshua Neal, EMSCI #581, Operations Superintendent with Niagara EMS and a paramedic for 15 years. He currently helps lead Niagara EMS’s Bike Medic Program and became an IPMBA instructor in 2024.
Twenty-five summers, one of Canada’s busiest tourist districts, and a simple idea that remains an invaluable part of Niagara’s Region’s Emergency Response. In 2026, Niagara EMS celebrates two and a half decades of seasonal bike medic service, bringing paramedics closer to patients in places where it can be difficult for a conventional ambulance vehicle to reach.
A local idea that kept rolling
Niagara EMS, with support from the Niagara Paramedic Association, developed the Bike Medic program in 2000 to support emergency medical responses for the Canal Days Marine Festival in Port Colborne, Ontario. The annual street festival draws an average of 65,000 visitors over the Civic Holiday weekend, with large crowds of pedestrians filling the streets around activities and vendors. Bike medics gave a way to move through the festival quickly and provide an immediate response within the crowds. The experience demonstrated how a more versatile approach could complement traditional ambulance response during large, pedestrian-focused events.
The Niagara Falls tourist district presented many of the same challenges throughout the summer season. Large crowds, regular events, heavy pedestrian traffic and other seasonal pressure points made the bike medic model well suited to the area. The response area covers approximately 1.15 square kilometers, with a 5.8-kilometre perimeter. Dedicated bike medics provided added flexibility during the busy summer months and quickly became an integral part of the Niagara EMS summer response plan.
In 2001, Niagara EMS made the Bike Medic Team a permanent program, initially focused on weekend coverage. The following year, the program expanded to seven-day coverage throughout the summer. The first full-time season saw bike medics respond to 254 calls throughout the Niagara Falls tourist district, with the team arriving before the ambulance on the majority of those calls.
That ability to get there first remains one of the biggest advantages of the program. Bike medics can reach patients, begin an assessment and provide care while an ambulance is on the way. They can also help determine what further support is needed and help incoming crews navigate the area.
Bike medics respond to calls as varied as those handled by any Niagara EMS crew, including falls, heat illness, dehydration, chest pain, respiratory distress, diabetic emergencies, intoxication, trauma, and more.
The bikes are equipped to provide more than just an initial assessment and, depending on the nature of the emergency, may be able to provide the care needed without an ambulance being required. The original mountain bikes carried pannier bags with automated external defibrillators, oxygen, medications, first-aid supplies and glucometers. Today, the bikes are supported by advanced Special Event Directives, providing access to additional medications and treatment options, while CAD technology allows for navigation, unit tracking and call assignments. ePCR documentation is completed on iPads, and the addition of PCP-IV has further expanded the interventions paramedics can provide on scene. The bikes themselves have also advanced significantly, with newer Trek Marlin models featuring a 1x12 drivetrain, Shimano MT200 hydraulic disc brakes and 29-inch Maxxis tires, providing improved reliability, control and performance in busy special-event environments. While the equipment has evolved over the years, the goal remains the same: give paramedics the tools they need to begin treating patients as soon as they arrive.
The 2026 Numbers:
- 116 days - seasonal deployment
- 243 - total responses
- 20% - of ambulance responses diverted following Bike Medic assessment
- 3:45 - average Priority 1 response time
- 60% - Priority 1 calls where Bike Medics arrived first
Beyond the response
The Bike Medic program has also had an impact beyond Niagara. In 2003, Niagara EMS hosted the first IPMBA Police/EMS Cyclist Course offered in Ontario. Held in Thorold, the course brought police and EMS participants together for training in bike handling, safe riding, equipment, and operating in complex public spaces. For Niagara EMS, it was an opportunity to help advance professional public safety cycling in Ontario while building skills that directly support the work bike medics do each summer.
The team has also used its visibility in the community to support local causes. In 2011, 20 Niagara EMS medics took part in the Ontario Heart and Stroke Foundation’s Ride for Heart as the “Pedal Angels.” The team raised $21,500, earning the Platinum Wheel award as the top fundraising team, with the funds supporting Niagara’s public-access defibrillator program.
That kind of community involvement reflects the role Bike Medics play beyond responding to emergencies. They work where the public is, interacting with visitors, families, event staff, business owners, park personnel, police officers and fellow responders. They are often among the first public-safety professionals someone sees when a good day suddenly takes a turn.
That visibility comes with responsibility, but it also gives Bike Medics an opportunity to represent Niagara EMS in the community and build connections with the people they serve.
Still rolling. Still ready.
Twenty-five years after the first bike medics hit the streets, the program has become a familiar and valued part of summer in Niagara Falls.
The bikes have changed. The equipment has evolved. Niagara Falls has grown busier.
But the mission remains the same: get emergency care to the patient, wherever they are, as quickly and safely as possible.