A free shuttle bus that ferries staff between the Royal Preston and Chorley and South Ribble hospitals is to be scrapped as part of a cost-cutting drive.
The service has operated for more than a decade and can also be used by patients during off-peak hours – although they have to pay to be transported.
However, Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (LTH) is set to withdraw the £200,000-a-year facility from 30th May. The organisation has to make £60m of savings during the 2025/26 financial year – and hospital bosses say they are unable to continue subsidising the connection.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) understands paying public passengers generated only around £3,000 towards the annual cost.
The dedicated bus – operated on behalf of the trust by a third party – was first introduced as a result of previous changes to where some staff were based.
Its removal will not affect the free park and ride services for Royal Preston workers, which operate from both Preston Grasshoppers and the Preston Business Centre. Off-site car parking passes are also available at Preston College and St Mary’s Church.
Meanwhile, the Stagecoach 125 service runs between Preston and Chorley hospitals, seven days a week – starting earlier and finishing later than the existing shuttle.
In a joint letter to colleagues, LTH chief executive Prof Silas Nicholls and chief people officer Dr. Neil Pease said the scrapping of the service was amongst the “difficult decisions” needed to get the trust’s finances “back on track”.
They added: “The service was put in place for a very particular set of circumstances…and was the right thing to do at the time. It was also there to act as an option for colleagues who require transport for their day-to-day activity – for example, a colleague with obligations on both sites during the same working day.
“This decision has not been reached lightly or without significant consideration about the impact on colleagues. However, as things stand, we are heavily subsidising a small cohort of staff which is inequitable, as well as going against the principle of our Green Plan in terms of enabling poorly-used buses to run up and down the motorway on a daily basis.
“Other options, including the service provider charging passengers, reducing the service or running the service ourselves, have been considered but we simply haven’t been able to find a way to make it work.”
Staff who have to travel between the two locations during their shifts may be able to claim expenses once the shuttle bus stops running.
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