Home > Case studies > University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust – The Hospital Hopper

University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust – The Hospital Hopper

Example of:
How a multi-site organisation has improved travel arrangements between sites by providing a transport solution that is not dependent upon using cars or taxis.

Key points:

  • The University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust has reduced expenditure on taxis by 50% and projects an annual income of £42,000 from the introduction of a bus shuttle service that enables visitors and staff to travel between the Trust’s three hospitals

The University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust has three hospitals across different sites. Previously, the preferred mode of transport for staff between the Trust’s three sites was car or taxi. The costs incurred by the Trust for such travel was considerable. The Trust Board settled on the idea of a Hospital Hopper to improve inter-site travel arrangements, offsetting the costs against the money saved by reducing the number of car and taxi journeys made. Members of the public are charged a nominal, flat rate of £1 a day to use the service, with a projected annual income of £42,000.

The introduction of the shuttle bus coincided with other initiatives aimed at encouraging staff to use the service, including the following.

  • Introducing car parking charges at all sites.
  • Limiting the number of staff parking passes that enabled parking at all three sites.
  • Encouraging the scheduling of meetings at times that enable staff to make use of the service.
  • Placing a high level of emphasis in the tendering process on the fact that any alternative to the car must offer a similar level of safety, comfort and reliability.
  • Encouraging the use of technology and communication devices to minimise the need to travel at all.

There are now 4 Hospital Hopper buses, running every 30 minutes from 7am until 6pm Monday to Friday. Seven thousand journeys are made each week, mostly by staff. Expenditure on taxis has reduced by 50%, and reductions in carbon dioxide emissions are due to be calculated as part of the Trust’s Carbon Management Programme.