Shropshire councillor appeals to reinstate hospital bus stop

A councillor claims patients now have a harder time getting to hospital appointments

A councillor has launched a petition to restore a bus stop outside a hospital.

The stop for the treatment centre at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital was removed from the number 11 bus route earlier this year.

Alex Wagner, Liberal Democrat, said it was already having an impact on people needing to get to appointments.

Arriva, which operates the bus service, said it was "disappointed" to have withdrawn the stop.

The bus company said the Covid-19 pandemic had a "significant impact" on the industry, with fewer people using services and making some no longer sustainable.

A bus stop on the other side of the hospital at the outpatient centre remains in operation.

Mr Wagner said it left people with a further half-mile to walk to get to their appointments.

Arriva said the cost of reinstating the stop "cannot be justified"

"If you're in the unfortunate position of having to rely on Shropshire's fairly spotty public transport in order to get to the treatment centre or hospital appointments, probably the last thing you want to do is walk that extra half a mile," Mr Wagner said.

He added more than 250 people had already signed his petition online for the bus stop to be reinstated.

"It shows that people care - even if people aren't using that route, they understand how important it is that they can access NHS service," he explained.

While Mr Wagner said he believed reinstating the bus stop would be a "quick fix", an Arriva spokesperson said the additional mileage to serve the stop, as well as congestion around the local roads, "would mean an additional bus would be required".

"With less than 10 passengers a day boarding at this bus stop, the cost of providing an additional bus cannot be justified," the company said.