The city of La Joya launched their new ambulance service Tuesday.

Though the new ambulance is a public service from La Joya, they are allowed to pick up patients in other cities close by.

"Whenever we are short here, in the city that we require more than one ambulance, we can always rely on them coming in to help us as well," La Joya firefighter Armando Guerrero said.

The fleet currently has one ambulance, which was paid for with city and state funding. There are no plans to add another ambulance.

Before La Joya launched the new ambulance service, the city was being served exclusively by Medcare EMS.

Guerrero said now that the city has their own ambulance, they have in-house service that doesn't have to respond from neighboring cities.

Guerrero said he understands some people in La Joya do not have health insurance, but they're still going to need an ambulance, even if it costs $1,800 per ride. He said it's worth the price, even if the city has to foot the bill.