Stagecoach East Midlands passengers raise over 30k for NHS Covid19 appeal

Stagecoach East Midlands today announced a total fund of £30,521 has been raised for the NHS COVID-19 Appeal, thanks to generous passengers.

Stagecoach introduced the Exact Fare scheme back in March at the start of the pandemic. Surplus money from the no change initiative was automatically donated to the NHS COVID-19 Appeal. The temporary policy was one of many measures taken by Stagecoach to ensure that people could continue to travel with confidence. All services in England, Scotland and Wales have been accredited with Visit Britain’s “We’re Good to Go” official mark, recognising the work carried out to meet government and industry Covid-19 guidelines and the processes in place to maintain cleanliness and aid social distancing.

Matt Cranwell, Managing Director of Stagecoach East Midlands, presented the cheque to NHS representatives at Lincolnshire Community Health Services NHS Trust in Lincoln on Tuesday 3 November to mark the fundraising milestone. Director of Nursing, Allied Health Professionals and Operations and Deputy Chief Executive for the Lincolnshire Community Health Services NHS Trust, Tracy Pilcher, was also in attendance.

Matt Cranwell said: “We want to extend a huge thank you to our passengers who embraced the scheme and helped us to raise an incredible total of £30,521 for this worthy cause through surplus bus fare change.

“We introduced the Exact Fare Policy as part of a package of measures to assure passengers and staff at the height of the pandemic. We are still encouraging all of our customers to use contactless payment methods and the Stagecoach App where possible and want to thank those who have adapted to the new systems and schemes over the last few months.”

Stagecoach customers are still asked to use contactless, mobile, pre-payment methods or have exact change for their fare wherever possible. Change will be given where needed across the majority of Stagecoach bus services.

Tracy Pilcher, Deputy Chief Executive at Lincolnshire Community Health Services NHS Trust, said: “It is a privilege to receive this generous donation on behalf of NHS Charities Together and we are very grateful to Stagecoach for choosing to support NHS services. This donation will help to make a real difference to the people we care for, their families and our talented, dedicated and hardworking NHS staff.”

The COVID-19 Urgent Appeal was launched by NHS Charities Together in March to represent, support and champion NHS staff and volunteers impacted by COVID-19 across the country.

The money raised is funding grants to help NHS charities support NHS staff, volunteers and patients in ways above and beyond what NHS funding can ordinarily provide, from meeting immediate and urgent needs to supporting the long term recovery from the impact of the crisis