Transit and area help

Hi guys,

I'm an international starting at Warwick in two weeks' time and I need a little help figuring out the local area and transit situation. I'm planning on getting a Coventry student bus pass through National Express but my course may require me to go to George Eliot hospital and/or Warwick hospital once a week starting second term.

What would you all recommend in terms of transit options? Should I upgrade my pass to cover the West Midlands? Is it possible to use my pass to get there, just paying a little extra each time?

Thanks!

I can't answer for certain, but from I know about bus passes, I really doubt they'll let you pay a little extra, you'd probably have to upgrade the pass. You could try calling them up and asking so you know for sure. I went to George Eliot Hospital a few times from Warwick uni and got the train from Coventry station to Nuneaton then walked to the hospital from Nuneaton station. It's do-able, though not something I'd want to do in the dark. I just looked at googlemaps and it's 3 buses to get there by bus which seems like a right pain in the ass but if you have the bus pass already you'd probably be better using that than getting the train.

I would be wary of committing to an annual bus pass now because you may find that you make friends on your course who also need to be at the hospitals on those days so you could go with them - either carpool or get a cab. If you're locked into a buspass you'll be wasting money as well as missing out on the social aspect.

If you purchase the Coventry bus pass - it will only cover you for bus transit across the whole of Coventry.

Unfortunately, the Coventry NX bus pass does not cover George Eliot Hospital in Nuneaton or Warwick Hospital in Warwick. The NX West Midlands pass also doesn't cover these two areas because Nuneaton and Warwick are in Warwickshire and this is a different county.

I sometimes have to travel to Nuneaton and it is infuriating that there is no pass that covers Coventry and Nuneaton and means you have to pay extra to go to Nuneaton.

The Coventry pass would include Walsgrave Hospital (University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire) - this is the local hospital with which Warwick has a partnership - just in case that is what you meant.

If you need to travel to George Eliot Hospital - you would need to take a bus into Coventry and then another bus toward Nuneaton. Your best bet for George Eliot Hospital is the number 55 bus that goes directly from Coventry City Centre to George Eliot Hospital and takes about 55 minutes.

There are lots of buses that go toward Nuneaton, so there are other options that might involve getting off nearby and then a short walk - but the 55 goes direct. As the other person said - you can also take a train from Coventry to Nuneaton or from Coventry to Bermuda Park and then walk the rest of the way.

Google Maps has got some very good tools to check the bus options - just type your to/from place names and then choose the "Public Transport" option.

The mobile version of Google Maps is also very good, or you can use the NX West Midlands app (for Coventry) or the Stagecoach app (for Nuneaton).

Hope this helps.