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A charity-run shuttle bus service taking patients to the Grange University Hospital in Cwmbran has ended.
The service was run by the Parish Trust, which is based out of St Thomas’ Church in Trethomas.
It took residents of Caerphilly, Bedwas, Trethomas, and Machen to both the Royal Gwent Hospital and the Grange – but now has ended the service after seven months due to a lack of use.
In June, the Parish Trust announced it would be reviewing the service, but wanted to wait another month before making a final decision.
Reverend Dean Roberts, Chair of Trustees at the Parish Trust, said: “We are very sad to have to pull a project from The Parish Trust’s portfolio that had so much potential.
“We tried our best to offer something that was deemed to be needed in the community, but in the end, the charity could not sustain the service.
“A lack of use, coupled with the cost of living crisis impinging on our work has meant that the charity has suffered a financial loss from running this project. We didn’t set out to make a profit from the shuttle bus, but we did plan for a break-even position so that we could help the community and expand the service as it got used by more people.
“Sadly, the statistics speak for themselves with single figures using it sporadically, and it is now unlikely that a public transport service direct from Caerphilly to the Health Board’s major hospital will return any time soon.”
The scheme was initially launched as a six-month trial, to see if there was a genuine public need for the service. Aneurin Bevan University Health Board contributed £13,000 to get the trial up and running.
Rev Roberts said the “results of that pilot have sent a message that the service wasn’t needed as much as people thought”.
He added: “We are as disappointed as many others that this service will no longer be available, but the old saying is true: ‘use it, or lose it’.
“What I can say is that we may look to offer a different model of service in the future, but this will depend on whether it is financially viable, with the charity having to find £14,500 each month to run.”
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