Labor says it will restore the shuttle bus from the McDonald Jones Stadium car park to John Hunter Hospital if it wins government on March 25.
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Wallsend MP Sonia Hornery and shadow health minister Ryan Park will announce the election commitment at the hospital today.
Hunter New England Health scrapped the free shuttle in 2015 after adding 740 spaces to the hospital's car parks and redirected the money to clinical services.
Labor said the shuttle would allow hospital workers, patients and visitors to avoid parking difficulties and free up traffic on Croudace Street, Russell Road and Lookout Road while the Inner City Bypass was being built.
"The shuttle service was a vital option for staff and patients to be able to access the hospital without the stress of finding a park or navigating the entry and exit of the hospital at peak hours," Ms Hornery said.
"I have heard numerous stories of staff employed at the hospital given unfair parking fines, struggling to find a park and having to arrive up to an hour before their shift, facing delays of up to an hour leaving the campus at peak times and many other nightmares since the shuttle bus was removed.
"With the continued expansion of the hospital on the horizon, it is imperative that we restart this service and free up as many parks as possible at the hospital."
Ms Hornery said Labor "intended" for the shuttle to be free.
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Michael Parris
Michael Parris reports on politics for the Newcastle Herald. He started at the Herald in 1994 after working in the ABC Newcastle newsroom. Michael spent much of his career as a sub-editor before moving into political reporting in 2017. He was a finalist in the Sports Australia national media awards for his stories about a male-only tennis club in Newcastle. He has covered NSW and federal elections, state and federal budgets and local politics. He has also written extensively about the COVID-19 pandemic with a special focus on data analysis and the effects of lockdowns on the Hunter community.
Michael Parris reports on politics for the Newcastle Herald. He started at the Herald in 1994 after working in the ABC Newcastle newsroom. Michael spent much of his career as a sub-editor before moving into political reporting in 2017. He was a finalist in the Sports Australia national media awards for his stories about a male-only tennis club in Newcastle. He has covered NSW and federal elections, state and federal budgets and local politics. He has also written extensively about the COVID-19 pandemic with a special focus on data analysis and the effects of lockdowns on the Hunter community.
