- Partnership to offer discounted bus travel to 140,000 NHS Scotland employees
- Provides more sustainable solution to unnecessary car trips and expensive car parking
- Supports Scottish Government’s climate change targets to reduce car km by 20% in the next decade
- Part of a package of solutions from Stagecoach to offer more flexible public transport
Stagecoach, the UK’s biggest bus operator, and the NHS in Scotland have partnered together to offer discounted bus travel to all 140,000 NHS staff in Scotland.
Using new technology, Stagecoach has opened up a discounted offer to all NHS employees in Scotland that offers a 10% discount on their bus travel. Employees can easily access the discounted tickets through a special section on the NHS Staff Benefits portal, which directly links to the Stagecoach app. This provides a simple and cost effective way for NHS employees to buy their bus tickets and gives them an opportunity to travel more sustainably.
Public transport, particularly buses, play a vital role in local communities and supporting the economy as well as meeting Scotland’s environment targets. The initiative will help to support the Scottish Government’s climate change targets, which aim to reduce car kilometres by 20% in the next decade. One double-decker bus can take up to 75 cars off the road and a 1% switch from cars would increase bus use by 12% or more.
Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said: “This discount will be appreciated by the many NHS staff who commute to healthcare facilities as part of their essential work providing healthcare for local communities.
“I welcome this collaboration between Stagecoach and the NHS to improve sustainable travel choices for NHS staff. Buses have a valuable role to play in our public transport network as we seek to reduce the use of cars by 20% by 2030, towards our goal of becoming a net zero nation by 2045.”
Sam Greer, Regional Director for Stagecoach Scotland, said: “Buses continue to play a vital role in the economy and supporting our local communities and are vital to help deliver the Scottish Government’s environment targets and ambitions.
“As Scotland gets ready to host the COP 26 climate change summit in November, there’s never been a more important time to help people switch from the car to more sustainable public transport and make real progress on climate change.
“Over recent years there have been a number of societal changes in how people work and want to spend their time, and this has been magnified in the past 12 months during the pandemic.
We’ve been encouraged by the number of employees already using the 10% discounted tickets since the launch of the new scheme. By providing more flexible tickets and working to offer incentives to large employers through our Stagecoach Solutions initiative, we’re hoping this will encourage even more people to give the bus a try.”
Stagecoach operates over 1,200 bus and coach services across Scotland connecting communities with hospitals and other NHS facilities. The new technology available means that Stagecoach can open up a discounted offer to all NHS employees in Scotland, expanding on the current local NHS staff initiatives in place in some areas.
Stagecoach has developed a range of sustainable options as an alternative to its traditional bus services to help people continue their more flexible public transport commute. This includes tailored shuttle buses, on demand services and discounted corporate travel to support the growing desire of companies to put sustainability at the heart of their business.
Stagecoach is also continuing to make major investment in new technology to help improve the service it offers customers. Earlier this year, it announced it was to become the first UK bus operator to invest in the national roll-out of new bridge alert technology. New digital systems have also been introduced to manage the maintenance of its bus fleet, which is helping to provide greater availability and boost reliability, and it has delivered Britain’s biggest transit contactless programme.
CAV Forth is a collaborative project part funded by the UK Governments’ Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV).
A consortium of UK partners are in the process of designing and developing a fleet of full size autonomous buses that will service a new Stagecoach operated route running from Ferrytoll P&R in Fife, across the Forth Road Bridge into Edinburgh Park’s transport interchange.
Design Jam
Our ‘Design Jam’ event will bring together East Scotland’s citizens with researchers, designers, developers and Stagecoach leadership to co-design how this service works for real people.
Together we will explore acceptance of the technology, how the service can be inclusive & accessibility, what makes for a positive passenger experience and how we can add moments of delight into this futuristic service.
To do this we are looking for a diverse range of views – people from different backgrounds, from different communities & professions as well as those with different travel needs.
Our aim is to be open and accessible to all. When you register please tell us if you have any additional support needs or dietary requirements. We can also reimburse travel expenses if you let us know in advance; breakfast, lunch and snacks will be provided throughout the day.
Throughout the course of the day you will learn about the technology, our service and the trial parameters before being encouraged to ‘JAM’ with fellow participants; creating idea, and prototyping solutions. There will also be the opportunity to pitch your ideas with ‘VIP’ tickets to the launch of the trial up for grabs.
Staff will be on hand throughout the day to support and guide you through discussions and the creative process.
Why?
Have the chance to influence the design of a first of its kind service, experience a design approach to creative problem solving, meet new people and have fun! If that wasn’t enough each participant will receive a £20 gift voucher as a thank you for taking part.
Outline Agenda:
9.30 – Breakfast and Registration
10.00 – Kick Off – Welcome and Introduction
10:30 – Learning Round Robin Activities
12:30 – Lunch
13:30 – Design Jam!
15:00 – Pitches & What comes next
16:00 – End
Any Questions?
Email Steve at Steven.Russell@StagecoachBus.com or Tweet us @StagecoachEScot
People from Fife will now be able to stay on the move during periods of severe rail disruption, thanks to a new ticket acceptance arrangement between ScotRail and Stagecoach East Scotland.
From Monday 16 January, ScotRail customers affected by any major disruption as a result of severe weather, emergency repairs or signalling issues, will be able to complete their journey using Stagecoach East Scotland bus services.
Customers holding a valid train ticket simply show this to the driver on boarding to be able to travel free of charge.
This scheme will be activated during periods of severe disruption, and customers will be alerted by ScotRail’s station and on-train staff, via Twitter and online. The arrangement does not cover travel between Edinburgh and Inverkeithing. A list of bus routes calling and pick up points is listed below.
A similar ticket acceptance is already up and running with Stagecoach in the North of Scotland, in Glasgow with First Bus, in Edinburgh with Edinburgh Trams and in Midlothian with Lothian Buses. It has been very successful in transporting passengers when rail services are not running as they should.
Jacqueline Taggart, ScotRail Alliance Customer Experience Director said: “This scheme will be a real benefit for our customers in Fife.
“During periods of major disruption, our main priority is to keep customers on the move, and this partnership with Stagecoach will help us do just that.”
Speaking about the new scheme, David Frenz, Operations Director at Stagecoach East Scotland said: We’re committed to providing quality public transport services to the communities we serve. We’re delighted to be able to assist rail passengers during periods of disruption as this partnership is putting the customer at the heart of our operations.”
