More than 1,200 staff transferring from Oxford's Radcliffe Infirmary to the John Radcliffe Hospital are being promised better bus links before their move early next year.

Oxfordshire County Council has been working with public transport firms and NHS managers to make improvements this summer, including more frequent buses, services in new locations and newer vehicles.

A new bus access road is also due to open at the JR via Osler Road and Saxon Way in October.

The enhancements follow an announcement by the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust a fortnight ago that JR staff car parking charges were due to be raised as part of plans to save £33m.

There is already a limit on who is allowed to apply for a permit according to how easy it is for them to get to work using public transport and in February the flat £30 permit fee was increased to 0.4 per cent of individual staff salaries.

Now workers who are eligible to use the staff parking spaces will have to pay between £60 year, if they earn less than £14,999, and £300 a year, if they earn more than £90,000.

ORH transport and development planning manager David Edwards said: "Hospitals are open to the public 24 hours a day, seven days a week, which is why it's so important to have a frequent bus service, especially in the evenings and at weekends.

"Patients, visitors and staff will all benefit by this increased service, and will be pleased that with the RI moving to the JR early next year further improvements to buses to Headington hospitals are in the pipeline."

David Robertson, county cabinet member for transport, said: "We're working hand in hand with the health service to make sure the big change in 2007 runs smoothly from a transport persp- ective."

The increase in staff parking fees was announced to staff in a briefing, which said: "Although this is not likely to be popular, the current Oxfordshire financial situation and the need to protect patient services and minimise compulsory redundancies make it necessary.

"The changes are consistent with the objective approved by the trust board in 2005 to increase charges in stages, to a level that equates to the costs of bus travel borne by staff not entitled to a parking permit."