Health bosses in Huddersfield and Calderdale spent a staggering £134,000 on taxis for patients last year.
The NHS provides transport for patients who don’t have friends or relatives to pick them up.
Most of the time hospitals offer lifts by patient transport ambulances or volunteer drivers but sometimes they have to hire taxis.
Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Huddersfield Royal Infirmary and Calderdale Royal Hospital in Halifax, have contracts with two local cab firms.
Figures released by the Health and Social Care Information Centre found that in 2014-15 the trust spent £134,338 on taxi fares.
Trusts may have to book taxis when patient transport services aren’t available.
In total, NHS trusts across England spent £21.4 million on patient taxis in 2014-15. Cambridge University Hospitals were the biggest spenders on £3.6 million.
The Huddersfield trust said its figure was about the same as the previous year. It was £130,000 in 2013-14.
Lesley Hill, executive director of planning, performance estates and facilities, said: “Many of our patients make their own way to and from hospital.
“For those that are unable to do so we provide transport and, in most cases, this is through the Yorkshire ambulance patient transport service, our in-house service or volunteer drivers.
“In some cases the use of a taxi is appropriate or necessary. Our trust has two contracts for taxis at Huddersfield and Halifax. We closely monitor the costs and keep the use of taxis to a minimum.”
