New arrangements for bus services from Clackmannanshire to Forth Valley Royal Hospital will maintain links from existing villages.

As part of the planned replacement of the existing H1 and H2 bus services NHS Forth Valley plans to run an hourly bus service from Alloa direct to Forth Valley Royal Hospital.  This will link with a supported bus service run by Clackmannanshire Council which will serve the rest of the route covered by the existing H1 and H2 services, thereby maintaining existing access from a number of towns and villages. These include Alva, Menstrie, Tullibody, Dollar, Tillicoultry and Sauchie.

Tom Steele, NHS Forth Valley’s Director of Strategic Property and Projects, said:

 NHS Forth Valley was only originally required to run a bus service from Alloa to the hospital however we took the decision to extend the service to a number of other local towns and villages across Clackmannanshire area in an attempt to increase passenger numbers.

“Unfortunately this hasn’t proved successful as the uptake for the actual part of the route which goes to the hospital has been very low and only accounts for around 8% of passengers. However, we recognise that local people value the links with the hospital and, by working closely with Clackmannanshire Council, we have managed to come up with a solution which will not only provide a direct service from Alloa but also maintain links with all of the existing outlying areas currently served.”

The new H1/H2 bus service will start on 5th August 2013. In the longer term there are plans to explore the possibility of providing a community based demand responsive bus service for the Clackmannanshire area which would link direct with Forth Valley Royal Hospital.