Bournemouth disabled student travels more than 850 miles across 10 days on public buses

ITV News

5 days ago

A disabled photography student has spent 10 days travelling more than 850 miles across England using public buses to highlight the challenges faced by disabled bus pass holders.
Dan Bowhay, from Bishops Waltham, in Hampshire, used his disabled bus pass to travel from Land's End to Marshall Meadows, in Berwick-upon-Tweed, a journey which takes just over nine hours by car, and filmed his journeys.
The Arts University Bournemouth student began his journey on January 26 and ended it on February 6, but did not travel on weekends because of the reduced services.
During each leg of his journey, Bowhay travelled up to 10 hours a day, including time in transit on a bus and waiting for a connection.
Mr Bowhay used his disabled bus pass to travel from Land's End to Marshall Meadows, in Berwick-upon-Tweed
Credit: Dan Bowhay/PA
Dan became visually impaired aged four, when he developed cataracts in both eyes.
It meant his left eye was removed and replaced with a prosthetic and he has limited vision in his right eye after the lens was replaced to treat his cataracts.
His condition means he struggles with his sight and depth perception, meaning he is unable to drive and is reliant on public transport for travel.
Dan Bowhay said, 'I am exploring what limited freedoms and independence this pass affords me."
He will soon showcase a 10-hour film documentary called 'Between These Times' to raise awareness about his 'limited freedoms' as a disabled bus pass user.
He said, "I've taken this genre and used it to kind of convey this journey I went on in this really slow format to show just how agonisingly slow it is to travel by bus, showing all these delays in that long, drawn out way."
He was inspired by his own personal experiences, saying he found it 'impossible' to get to his hospital appointments in Southampton without any help.
Dan said his original ambition was to travel to John o' Groats, however his bus pass, which is free for people who are disabled, does not cover Scotland.
Mr Bowhay has travelled more than 850 miles across England using public buses
Credit: Dan Bowhay/PA
Problems Dan Bowhay faced during the trip included bus delays of up to 40 minutes a day, waiting times of up to a several hours for connections and difficulties with scanning his pass, meaning he often had to present his pass to a driver.
He said more investment should go into bus services and for the 'public attitude' to be more understanding of the challenges faced by disabled people using public transport.
Of the 26 buses Dan took during the 10-day journey, he said only three had audio and one had visual announcements to indicate the location of each stop.
'I had to spend a fair amount of time sort of looking out the window and trying to work out, actually, where I am, where I need to get off,' he said.
His documentary will be shown at AUB's summer show from July 10-21 and Aberrations Collective's Show in Copeland Gallery, London, from July 31 to August 3, which Dan hopes will raise awareness about his 'limited freedoms' as a disabled bus pass user.
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