From April 1, 2025 the hospital shuttle bus service is changing.
The hospital Trust will no longer operate a free service and the route will be run by Moving People Bus and Coach Services, who will begin operating a direct commercial service between Royal Blackburn Teaching Hospital (RBTH) and Burnley General Teaching Hospital (BGTH), with additional stops in Blackburn and Burnley town centres.
It will operate Monday to Friday initially, and fares will be capped at a maximum of £3 per journey.
You can see the new timetable that will go live from 1 April by clicking here.
If you are looking for current timetables which will be in place until 31 March 2025, please click here.
The Trust announced in January that it was stopping the current free service as it can no longer afford to run it.
Moving People Bus and Coach Services, which is based in Oswaldtwistle, near Blackburn, stepped forward to formally register the route between Royal Blackburn Teaching Hospital and Burnley General Teaching Hospital.
The new route, which is supported by Blackburn with Darwen Council and Lancashire County Council, will remain a direct service between the two hospitals for patients, visitors and staff at the Trust, but add on stops in both Blackburn and Burnley town centres to improve travel for passengers.
Glen Chamberlain, managing director of Moving People, said: “This will be commercial service with a charge in place for passengers and run independently and without subsidy from the hospital trust. It is clear from data provided from the existing service that patients, visitors and staff rely upon it and, as a local company, I am delighted we have been able to step in and pick up the route.
“In the coming weeks we will be sharing the exact stops and timetable and I want to urge people who are currently using the bus to continue using it. We do need to make this commercially viable for Moving People and the people of East Lancashire and protect the service for the future.”
Martin Hodgson, Chief Executive at East Lancashire Hospitals, said: “It is absolutely brilliant news that Blackburn company Moving People will provide a similar commercial service when ours ends on March 31 and we will continue to do everything we can to support them, to publicise the route and encourage people to use it.
"I speak for everyone at East Lancashire Hospitals now when I say we’re grateful to Moving People and everyone who has worked so hard in the background to make this happen and that includes our local MPs, local authority leaders and local people as a whole.”
To support passengers, there are links on this page to other bus services, community transport options and information about how some patients may be able to claim back their health care travel costs.
If you have any questions, please email shuttlebus@elht.nhs.uk
Timetable valid from Monday 2 October 2023 (last review 29 September 2023)
Monday-Friday service
|
Royal Blackburn Hospital |
Burnley General Hospital |
|
Departure time |
Departure time |
|
6.15am |
6.15am |
|
6.45am |
6.45am |
|
7.15am |
7.15am |
|
7.45am |
7.45am |
|
8.30am |
8.30am |
|
9.15am |
9.15am |
|
10.15am |
10.15am |
|
11.30am |
11.30am |
|
12.15pm |
12.15pm |
|
1pm (via PCH) |
1pm |
|
1.45pm |
1.45pm |
|
2.30pm |
2.30pm |
|
3.15pm |
3.15pm |
|
3.45pm |
|
|
4.30pm |
4pm (via PCH) |
|
4.45pm |
4.30pm |
|
5.15pm |
5pm |
|
5.45pm |
5.30pm |
|
6.15pm |
6pm |
|
6.45pm |
6.30pm |
|
7.15pm |
7pm |
|
7.45pm |
7.45pm |
|
8.15pm |
8.15pm |
|
8.45pm |
8.45pm |
Saturday-Sunday/bank holiday service
|
Royal Blackburn Hospital |
Burnley General Hospital |
|
Departure time |
Departure time |
|
6.15am |
6.15am |
|
6.50am |
6.50am |
|
7.25am |
7.25am |
|
8.15am |
8.15am |
|
9am |
9am |
|
10.15am |
10.15am |
|
11.15am |
11.15am |
|
12.15pm |
12.15pm |
|
1pm (via PCH) |
1pm |
|
1.45pm |
1.45pm |
|
2.30pm |
2.30pm |
|
3.15pm |
3.15pm |
|
3.45pm |
3.45pm |
|
4.15pm |
4.15pm (via PCH) |
|
5.15pm |
5.15pm |
|
6.15pm |
6.15pm |
|
7.15pm |
7.15pm |
|
8.15pm |
8.15pm |
|
8.45pm |
8.45pm |
Route and pick-up points
- Royal Blackburn Hospital (main hospital entrance)
- Two-minute drive
- DW car park (flag stop for staff)
- 18-minute drive
- Pendle Community Hospital (pick-up just past bus stop on Leeds Road)
- Two-minute drive
- Casterton Avenue
- Eight-minute drive
- Burnley General Hospital (in front of new main entrance)
- Three-minute drive
- Prairie playing fields (Colne Road)
- Seven-minute drive
- Pendle Community Hospital (pick-up just past bus stop on Leeds Road)
- 13-minute drive
- DW car park (flag stop for staff)
- Seven-minute drive
- Royal Blackburn Hospital (main hospital entrance)
(timings are approximate)
We appreciate the benefits the shuttle bus has brought for colleagues at Burnley and Blackburn and we’re sorry we can no longer run the service. However the bus does not link all our hospital sites and all other colleagues have to find their own way into work.
Please speak to your line manager about how the closure of the shuttle bus will affect you to see if anything can be done to alleviate that impact.
We’ve also got lots of information on the staff intranet and this web page that might help you find alternative transport options, so worth having a look.
If you have a question that has not been answered please email shuttlebus@elht.nhs.uk or join the weekly Teams Brief sessions to ask Executive Directors a question directly.
The bus was only ever introduced in 2007 as a temporary measure for five years and was not initially paid for by the hospital. It was handed over to the hospital trust in 2013 without the funding and we carried it on because it was valued.
The fact is we simply cannot afford to run it any more.
Click here for current shuttle bus timetable and bus stops
Find out here about the healthcare travel cost scheme
Find out here about the Patient Transport Service
Find out here about community transport options
Alternative bus services to hospitals
Click here for help with planning journeys
If you have a question, please email shuttlebus@elht.nhs.uk