Hospital bus service is scrapped

The free bus service was mainly used by hospital staff

The loss of a free hospital bus service for patients, staff and visitors in Sussex and Surrey has led to a group of councillors vowing to fight the move.

The Link bus serves East Surrey Hospital in Redhill and Crawley and Horsham hospitals.

Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust said it was not financially viable and plans to discontinue the service from the beginning of November.

Councillor Alan Quirk said Crawley Borough Council rejected the proposal.

Andrew Hines, from the Trust, said an independent survey had shown the bus was running three-quarters empty on weekdays and operated at even lower usage at weekends.

A decision had been taken not to renew or re-tender the contract after October, he added.

Council 'disappointed'

Mr Hines said: "We have listened to the concerns that have been expressed, but the facts speak for themselves.

"The service has cost the trust, and by extension the taxpayer, nearly £1m over the past three years.

"From our point of view that's money we really would expect to spend much better on direct patient care rather than on a bus service that is running almost empty."

But Mr Quirk, a Conservative councillor in Crawley, said: "We're disappointed that our representations weren't successful, so we're gearing ourselves up to fight this proposal.

"It may be possible to modify the service so that costs are reduced but the bones of the service can be retained so people can use it in the future."

Mr Hines added that elderly or infirm patients could get free travel on other services, and the trust was already talking to other transport providers between Crawley and Redhill.