BIG Hopper Bus Wins For Students
Today we are pleased to bring you an excellent piece of news! After successfully concluding discussions with senior figures within the University, the Students’ Union can announce that substantial improvements to the Hopper Bus service will take effect next year!
Samuel Peake, your Students’ Union Community Officer, and Angharad Smith, your SU President, have championed the campaign this year (a commitment made in their manifestos.) Sam commented:
“Whenever I visited our health care sites, developing transport links remained a key priority for students studying there. So began a process of gathering information, exploring all options, and presenting these to senior committees within the university. I am thrilled this lobbying has resulted in £170,000 investment being made into increasing Hopper Bus provision. This is on top of the already generous transport budget provided by the University, and will make the lives of students better.”
The changes will principally affect Nottingham students studying at our sites at the Royal Derby Hospital and Nottingham City Hospital.
For students at Derby it means an additional early morning bus service will run, getting in on time for a 9am start to the working day. The Derby hopper bus will also be extended much later into the evenings, relieving congestion on what is currently the final bus service of the day. Students based at Derby will have greater flexibility to access the facilities available on University Park in the evenings. And of course, it’s a two-way street, so University Park based students will have greater opportunities to access the societies and evening events at Derby.
The University of Nottingham at Derby (or UNAD) are the Students’ Union’s associated body based at Derby. UNAD have worked closely with the SU centrally this year. UNAD President Paul Smith said:
“I'm impressed with the support from the Students’ Union, the staff at the student centre here and the University in approaching this pragmatically and resulting in this fantastic outcome.”
For students at Nottingham City Hospital, these changes mean a completely new Hopper Bus service will be introduced, running throughout the working day. Currently there is no Hopper Bus service running to the City Hospital, so we hope this will be a real transformation.
Emma Connor, has been involved in the Hopper Bus campaign for several years;
”A Hopper Bus to City Hospital is a fantastic change! The new timings, for both City and Derby, will mean the University experience can be so much better for current and future students. A huge thank you to everyone who has taken the time to get involved with the campaign, we did it!”
All changes will come into effect in time for the next academic year. The timetable is currently being finalised to take into account the new services, and students can anticipate being updated further in August.
We’ll leave the final word to the President, Angharad, who said;
“Campaigns aren’t always easy, and they aren’t always quick. But ultimately they can be effective if you’re prepared to sit down and work with others. I would particularly like to thank the School of Medicine, the School of Health Sciences, the RDH Education Centre, the University Estates Office, the University’s Executive Board, and my colleagues within the SU. They have all been a great support. And I am delighted we have been able to listen to students and make long-lasting positive change this year.”