City hospitals in running for sustainable staff travel awards

ON BOARD: A park and ride service for hospitals staff at Asda Bilton

By Simon Bristow

Hull’s hospitals have been named finalists in national awards for a project to help staff travel to work.

Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (HUTH) launched its Getting to Work project in June as part of its Zero Thirty campaign to tackle climate change, introducing three free park-and-ride services and discounted bus and rail travel for staff.

HUTH has also worked with East Riding Council to host regular cycling events such as “Be Safe, Be Seen”, safer route planning and tips on security to encourage staff to leave their cars and cycle to work.

Now the trust has been named finalists in two awards – Business Engagement Project of the Year for its Getting to Work project, and Best Project Under £1,000 for an event run with the council to offer staff the chance to try an e-bike.

Marc Beaumont, Head of Sustainability at HUTH, who leads the Zero Thirty campaign, said: “We’re really grateful to East Riding of Yorkshire Council for nominating us for these awards in recognition of the work the team has done to persuade staff to leave their cars at home or for at least part of the journey.

“The team has done an amazing job, getting staff out of cars and giving them alternative options to travel to work.

“Since we launched the services in the summer, we’ve already saved more than 3,000 car journeys and that’s great news, not just for our staff but for pollution levels in the city.

“East Riding of Yorkshire Council has been a fantastic support to us and our staff and we look forward to continuing that partnership.”

The national awards are run by Modeshift, the UK’s leading sustainable transport organization. The winners will be announced at a black tie event in Leicester tonight.