Transport and parking

This page provides information for people travelling by car and bus to Cheltenham General and Gloucestershire Royal Hospitals. We know that travelling to an appointment can be stressful, so please leave extra time before your appointment. This will allow time for parking. You will need to bring change with you should you need it. Hospital maps are available on our website and these highlight the locations of the car parks.

How to use our car parks
Saba parking app
Exemptions and reductions
Exemptions from parking charges
Reductions in parking charges
Blue Badge holders
Reductions in travel costs
The 99 bus route
Further information

How to use our car parks

We have a mixture of ‘pay & display’ and ‘pay on foot’ payment machines for the car parks. The type of parking system is stated on a sign at the entrance to each car park.

‘Pay on foot’ car park guide:

When entering the car park take a ticket from the machine.
Keep the ticket with you; please do not leave it in the car.
When returning to your car, pay for your stay at the pay machine/station. The machine will take coins, notes and credit or debit cards. The machine will give change.
Please bear in mind that after paying at the machine, you will have 15 minutes to exit the car park.

‘Pay & display’ car park guide:

Drive into the car park and park your car.
Go to the pay machine and pay for the length of time you need, using the right amount of change. You can also pay via the Saba Parking app – see next section.
Take the ticket from the machine and place it on the dashboard of your car, in clear view through the windscreen. Remember to check the time on your ticket and make sure that you return to your car by this time.
If you are delayed in the hospital you may need to return to the car park to pay for more time; remember to display the new ticket in your vehicle. Alternatively, you can add time to your stay via the Saba Parking App.

Drop-off zones are 20 minutes ONLY for all users including blue badge holders.

Saba parking app

The Saba Parking App is a quick and easy way to pay for your parking.

You can download the app from the Apple or Google Play stores.

Exemptions and reductions

We offer reductions and exemptions to car parking charges for some carers, visitors and patients. Parking permits are non-refundable.

If you think you may qualify for a permit, please ask the sister/manager of the ward or department you are attending or visiting. If they agree that you are eligible to have a permit, they will complete the relevant form.

You will then need to take this form to either the Parking Shop outside the ‘Pillars’ entrance at Cheltenham General Hospital or the Parking Shop on the ground floor of the multi-storey car park at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital. You will then be given a permit. Opening hours for the Parking Shops are listed at the end of this page.

If you are using a ‘Pay & display’ car park, you will be given a small notice to display in your windscreen.

If you are using a ‘Pay on foot’ car park, you will be given a card which will need to be used at the barrier machines to lift the barrier when exiting the car park.

Please make sure that the member of staff has filled in the form correctly, as the form cannot be completed or amended by the Parking Shop staff.

In the pay and display car parks you must display the permit clearly in your car window. If you have any questions, senior ward staff will be able to help you.

Exemptions from parking charges

Individual cases will be considered, but they are usually one of the following:

Parents staying overnight with children on children’s wards.
Outpatients having dialysis, oncology patients having radiotherapy, chemotherapy or regular blood transfusions.
Official carers.

Reductions in parking charges

A reduction in parking charges takes the form of a parking permit for 1 week or 2 weeks. A reduction will be considered by the sister/ward manager in each individual case and may be offered where:

the patient has been an in-patient for 14 days or more.
the patient has been an in-patient in the Department of Critical Care (DCC) for more than 3 days.
the patient has been an in-patient for 3 days and has been diagnosed as terminally ill.
the patient has been an in-patient in Neo-natal/Special Care for more than 3 days.
the patient is required to visit the Outpatients Department for a number of appointments in 1 week.

The cost of a weekly parking permit is £20.00 and a permit for 2 weeks costs £40.00. Once issued this money cannot be refunded.

A patient who does not meet the above exemption criteria, but needs to come to hospital for many visits over a period of a week may also be considered for exemption. Please ask in the Parking Shop for more information (the contact details are at the end of this page).

Blue Badge holders

All our main entrances have allocated parking spaces for disabled people who are Blue Badge holders. At busy times, Blue Badge holders can park in a standard parking space and not incur a parking fee as long as the Blue Badge is clearly on show inside the vehicle.

Cars parked in disabled parking spaces without a Blue Badge on display will be subject to parking penalties.

Reductions in travel costs

If you are in receipt of benefits, you may be eligible for a refund of your travel costs. Claim forms HC5(T) and HC1 can be downloaded on the NHS Choices website and copies are available inside the ‘pillars’ entrance at Cheltenham General hospital or at the Tower Block reception desk at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital.

Your travel costs claim form must be posted to the address on the form within 3 months of your hospital appointment.

Information about travel cost claims ‘Help with travel costs’ can also be found on the NHS Choices website.

Your refund will be worked out using the cheapest mode of public transport. Any costs over this will not be refunded, including additional charges for the Voluntary Car Service. Receipts must be enclosed with any claim you make. If you need to travel by taxi, you will need a letter from your doctor or clinician, on official paper, to explain that you have no other way of travelling. If you wish to reclaim the cost of a carer, you will also need written authorisation from your doctor or clinician.

Exceptions to this scheme include:

Emergency Department (A&E) visits are not covered, unless needed for a condition you already have.
Visiting – you may be able to apply for a loan or grant through your local Jobcentre Plus office.

99 Bus Service (including Arle Court ‘Park & Ride’)

The 99 Bus Service runs between Cheltenham General Hospital and Gloucestershire Royal Hospital, every quarter-to and quarter-past the hour from each hospital, after peak times.

You can park for free at Arle Court ‘Park & Ride’ but there is a fee to pay to use the bus unless you are exempt from paying or are a member of staff with a valid Trust identity card.

The service runs Monday to Friday, except on bank holidays. The bus stop for Cheltenham General Hospital is near the top of College Road. The bus stop for Gloucestershire Royal Hospital is opposite the Tower Block entrance by the multistorey car park.

The timetable for the Park & Ride/99 Bus Service is available on the ‘Transport and Parking’ pages on our website and also on the Pulham’s Coaches website:

www.gloshospitals.nhs.uk/about-us/news-media/pressreleases-statements/new-99-shuttlebus-service-launches/

www.pulhamscoaches.com/99service

Please see below for the 99 Bus Service route.