Outcry as Hospital Bus axed – petition launched by local councillors

First York have confirmed that Hospital Bus (HSB) Park & Ride service, which connects Rawcliffe Bar Park & Ride and York Hospital, will no longer operate from 1 April, when the current contract ends. Following the news, local councillors have hit out at the impact this decision could have on vulnerable people needing to access the hospital and launched a petition to call for the service to be retained.

The Hospital Bus service has been operated by First York with financial support from the Hospital. First York have confirmed that the decision to withdraw the service has been made due to dwindling passenger figures, which have left the service no longer financially viable going forward.

The last operating day for the service will be Friday 31 March.

The other bus options available locally, which have stops near the hospital are:

• The Rawcliffe Bar P&R (Service 2) picks up and drops off close to Bootham, which is a 10-15 minute walk from the hospital site  
• The Service 6 picks up and drops off on Wigginton Road outside the hospital (but does not service any Park & Ride site).

Local councillors have set up a petition and urged residents who will be affected by this change to contact them, so that a case for retaining some form of service can be made to the operator and the Hospital. The petition can be found here: https://digitallibdems.typeform.com/hospbus

Lib Dem Councillor for Rawcliffe & Clifton Without Darryl Smalley said: "Responses to our recent bus survey across Rawcliffe and Clifton Without have highlighted how important this service is to local residents. Given that the bus is intended to serve staff, patients and visitors, some of whom will be older or ill – this decision will have a major impact on all of them.

“We believe that instead of cancelling the service, First should invest in making it more reliable, whilst the Hospital Trust should tackle the multi-storey car park issues - which would help reduce the terrible traffic congestion suffered on Wigginton Road. A service from the park and ride to the hospital remains a sensible measure to reduce congestion locally.

“Please consider signing our petition to call for the service to be retained. We will urgently seek to meet with representatives of the Hospital to ensure resident concerns are heard and all possible alternative solutions investigated.”

Lib Dem Councillor Sam Waudby added: "We've had hundreds of conversations about bus services locally, and it’s absolutely clear that the Hospital Bus is greatly appreciated, but underused.

Whilst the route is clearly currently underused, many of First's operational decisions have contributed to this lack of use. For the last few months the ‘Hospital Bus’ hasn’t actually reached the hospital – it’s not a surprise passenger numbers have dwindled. All alternatives must be looked at to ensure patients, staff and visitors can access the hospital as easy and quickly as possible.”