A HOPPER bus between the Worcestershire Royal Hospital and the Alexandra Hospital in Redditch has been axed by health chiefs.
Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust (WAHT) revealed the closure and said it aimed to replace the service with on-demand transport launching in September.
The hopper bus was part of a plan to solve the difficulty of getting Redditch residents to the Royal Hospital in the wake of a decision to move key services there last year.
At the time Caragh Merrick, chair WAHT spoke of a desire to get a proper bus service linking the two hospitals, and spoke of her hopes to get such a service sponsored.
Local residents who have used the bus, while praising its comfort and efficiency, questioned just how widely it had been publicised within the trust as passenger numbers were low and staff weren’t sure if it was actually running.
A WAHT spokesperson said: “We have been monitoring usage over this time and unfortunately the number of passengers who have used the service has been too low to make it financially viable longer term. Therefore we have made the decision to not extend the pilot.
“However, we are pleased that an alternative Community Transport option will be in place from early September.
“These will be on-demand services and will enable patients to travel to Worcestershire’s three acute hospitals from their local communities at a subsidised cost. The full details of this will be announced in due course.”
