Northampton General Hospital (NGH) provides general acute services to 426,500 residents in West Northamptonshire, alongside specialist services for stroke, vascular, and renal patients across the county. The hospital forms part of the University Hospitals of Northamptonshire alongside Kettering General Hospital.
With approximately 6,000 staff and around 1,900 staff parking spaces, NGH faces ongoing parking pressures. Located less than a mile from Northampton train station and the town centre, NGH is well-served by a range of bus services (4, 5, 9B, 12, 12A, 51, VH1), mostly operated by Stagecoach Midlands.
GO Travel Solutions was commissioned to develop a strategic package of interventions to increase bus use among staff and visitors, reduce car volumes, and enhance sustainable travel options at NGH.
This project was coordinated by GO Travel Solutions on behalf of West Northamptonshire Council and funded by UK Government.
Project objectives
- Identify opportunities to grow bus use at NGH
- Maximise BSIP+ funding investment
- Reduce car dependency and parking pressures
- Support health, wellbeing, and recruitment through sustainable transport options
Solutions
Solutions delivered
Impact & outcomes
Travel Planning Analysis:
- 33% of staff meet criteria for a feasible bus journey (e.g. arrival by 8:00am, departure after 4:30pm, journey <45 mins, single vehicle <30 mins).
- Currently, only 4% of staff use the bus.
Key potential initiatives identified from staff travel survey feedback:
- More direct routes – 33%
- Reliable bus service – 25%
- Work discount scheme – 20%
- Better waiting facilities – 11%
- Improved access to bus stops – 9%
- Increased maps/timetables – 5%
Site Visit
· Opportunities for improved bus promotion and information sharing were identified around the site.
· Potential improvements to local infrastructure (e.g. the condition of local stops) were suggested.
Recommendations
For consideration:
Short-Term
• Update and republish the Travel Plan (TP).
• Review the new staff induction process.
• Create a Transport link on the intranet landing page with updated information for staff.
• Create a clear How to Find Us link on the public webpages for patients, visitors, and potential new staff members.
• Create a non-legal partnership between the Trust, Stagecoach, and WNC.
Medium-Term
• Create a Travel Plan Group.
• Offer trial tickets and/or subsidies on existing routes from Northampton and Earls Barton.
• Join the Modeshift STARS NHS programme.
• Include sustainable travel information (or links) in patient and visitor letters.
Long-Term
• Liaise with Stagecoach to improve the route and ticket offerings to staff.
• Where possible, survey patients and visitors post-visit.
• Create safer routes between the hospital and the town centre.
• Improve the waiting facilities at the bus stops.
‘We are pleased to have partnered with West Northamptonshire Council, GO Travel Solutions and NHS colleagues to increase awareness of what bus options are available; as an organisation, we are committed to growing the number of journeys made by bus and initiatives such as these create much greater awareness of what the bus network already provides and how we can develop it further, helping to reduce congestion and support the local and wider economy.’
Patrick Stringer, Commercial Director at Stagecoach
Our work with GO Travel Solutions has allowed us to look at the opportunities for reducing car usage with fresh eyes, from our external web pages to the routes to and from the site. By better understanding where our staff travel from in relation to the local bus services we will be able to work with the local bus provider to target any improvements to areas where they will have a bigger target audience.
Next steps?
