When the new Royal Derby hospital opened up a few years back, the problems with parking there was often highlighted in the Derby Evening Telegraph. Due to a fractured arm, I myself have now realised how ridiculous the parking situation actually is at the Derby Royal. Because the hospital is so large there are often times that the car parks get so full that you will not be able to find a single space unless you are willing to queue at a barrier and wait for someone to leave the car park. On one occasion I got to the hospital 30 minutes before my appointment but then took 35 minutes to find a parking space! If you are lucky enough to find a space then the next problem is the price for parking, if you go over 1 hour then it will cost £2.50 !
Lots of people miss appointments at the Royal due to this problem so what can you do?
Did you know that there is a dedicated very frequent bus service that runs between Derby city centre, London Road Community Hospital (D.R.I.) and the Royal Derby hospital. It stops at many places along the route so you can always catch it out of the city centre (see my detailed map).
The Derby Royal Hospital Hopper Bus is quite distinctive, I'm sure you will have seen this bus at some point
Photograph by Matt Burley.
During the week the first bus of the day is at 6:25am from the London Road Community Hospital. The last bus leaves the LRCH at 9:20pm.
On Saturday the first bus of the day is at 6:20am from the London Road Community Hospital. The last bus leaves the LRCH at 8pm.
It only takes 15 minutes to get from the Spot in Derby to the Royal Derby Hospital.
There is no bus service on a Sunday.
This service is operated by Trent Barton so unfortunately you can't use a Day saver ticket from Arriva on this service but you can save money by using a Mango card.
Now another thing worth noting is that this bus stops at many places along this route so you don't need to park in town, you can then avoid city centre car park charges by parking on a side street along the route and walking to one of these stops. Doing this will save you lots of money and time and you won't be late for your appointment.
I have done this and it seems the best option. The cost of a single ticket from the bus stop on Burton Road near Whitaker Road to the Royal Derby Hospital will cost £1.50
If parking on a side street obviously show some consideration to local residents and make sure you're not in a permit parking zone otherwise you will end up with a parking ticket.
On their timetable they list six "main stops", these are
London Road Community Hospital.
The Spot, Osmaston Road.
Burton Road, Breedon Hill Road.
RDH, Main Entrance.
RDH Children's Hospital Entrance.
RDH, Main Entrance.
On my map I have used a RED line for the route from Derby city centre out to the Derby Royal Hospital and a BLUE line for the route from Derby Royal Hospital back to Derby city centre. I have marked every single bus stop that the Derby Royal.
My map is compatible with smart phones. Tap the link here : Royal Derby Hospital Bus Route Map.
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| Look out for these Royal Derby Bus Stops |
You will notice that there are actually several bus stops around the hospital site, the first stop is near the main entrance to the hospital. Look at the Derby Royal Hospital Map to see if you are better getting off at one of the other stops.
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| Bus Stop C at the Royal Derby. Use this stop for A&E, Childrens hospital, Therapies. |
For example if you are wanting the Hydrotherapy department then stay on and get off at stop C. Once the bus has gone around the hospital site it stops again at the main entrance stop before it leaves the Royal Derby hospital site and heads off to Derby via Uttoxeter New Road (A516)
There is a map on the Trent Barton website but its not been updated since 2009 so has many errors on it and does not show any of the bus stops. In my map here I have marked every single Royal Derby bus stop along the entire route back and forth so you can see which is the best stop for you to catch the bus from.
My accurate Route map for the Royal Derby Hospital Hopper Bus including all bus stops :
View Royal Derby Hospital Hopper Bus Route Map in a larger map
Click on the link above to view my map full screen.
The cheapest way to pay for your fare on the Royal Derby hospital hopper bus is to use a Mango card, this will give you 25% off your fare price and means you don't have to carry change with you :
MANGO Card.
If you do really desperately need to park your car here then here are the current charges (7th Feb 2013)
Parking Charges at the Royal Derby Hospital Car Parks:
Valid from 5th Jan 2012
Upto 1 hour £1.70
Upto 2 hours £2.50
Upto 3 hours £3.40
Upto 4 hours £4.00
Upto 5 hours £4.50
Upto 6 hours £5.50
Daily rate/over 6 hours £8.50
Weekly Ticket £9.00
Monthly Ticket £25.00
If you would like to know more about the Royal Derby hospital hopper service then see : Royal Derby HH.
If you found my information of use then please comment or tweet it.
Thanks
Andy
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