Stagecoach to offer discounted travel for NHS staff in Scotland

UK bus operator Stagecoach 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 per cent discount on their bus travel. Employees can access the discounted tickets through a special section on the NHS Staff Benefits portal, which directly links to the Stagecoach app.

Public transport, particularly buses, play a vital role in local communities and supporting the economy as well as meeting Scotland’s environment targets. Stagecoach says the initiative will help to support the Scottish Government’s climate change targets, which aim to reduce car kilometres by 20 per cent in the next decade. The operator claims just one double-decker bus can take up to 75 cars off the road and a one per cent switch from cars would increase bus use by 12 per cent or more.

“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,” said Health Secretary Humza Yousaf.

“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.”

“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,” added Sam Greer, Regional Director for Stagecoach Scotland.

“As Scotland gets ready to host the COP26 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 per cent 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.”