City of Tucson Awards Ambulance Billing Contract To Southwest Medical Billing Services; Rural/Metro-Southwest Ambulance Division Cited for Resources and Results.

Business Editors

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 25, 2003

Rural/Metro Corporation (Nasdaq:RURL) announced today that its Southwest Ambulance subsidiary has been awarded the contract to provide billing services for all Advanced Life Support (ALS) medical transports by the City of Tucson, Arizona.

The two-year contract to Southwest Medical Billing Services begins May 1, 2003. The agreement contains two one-year optional renewal terms, for a total possible length of four years.

The Tucson Fire Department will continue to provide ALS ambulance service and Southwest Medical Billing Services will be responsible for billing and collections of those transports. Southwest Medical Billing Service is a division of Southwest Ambulance, an Arizona subsidiary of Rural/Metro Corporation.

"This contract will support the City of Tucson by utilizing Southwest's experienced staff, established procedures and our hospital and insurance relationships," said Barry Landon, President of Southwest Ambulance. "It also marks an area of business expansion for Southwest, which takes advantage of the manpower and resources we already have in place."

Following a competitive bidding process, the City cited Southwest for its innovative approach to ambulance billing and proven results.

"We liked Southwest's billing approach, their staff resources, and their proven track record," said Tucson Fire Department Battalion Chief Randy Ogden. "This contract increases revenue for the City, by utilizing a company we trust. This is an especially important issue with Tucson's current budget conditions. We need to continue to expand partnerships to allow us to provide the best and most cost-efficient emergency pre-hospital care possible to our patients and their families."

Southwest has 20 years of local ambulance billing and collection experience in Pima County, Arizona, with established relationships among local hospitals and insurers. Southwest Ambulance provides Basic Life Support (BLS) transportation for the City of Tucson. The City of Tucson has 13 ambulances and conducts approximately 16,800 ALS transports annually.

Rural/Metro Corporation provides emergency and non-emergency medical transportation, fire protection, and other safety services in approximately 400 communities throughout the United States.

Except for historical information herein, this press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. These risks and uncertainties include, among others, the ability to sustain operating cash flow; secure new contracts; retain existing contracts; improve operating margins; and maintain compliance with covenant and other requirements of its credit facility. The Company disclaims any obligation to update its forward-looking statements.