Latest news with #DanBowhay
Rhyl Journal
6 days ago
- Rhyl Journal
Disabled student travels more than 850 miles across 10 days via public buses
Dan Bowhay, 22, used his disabled bus pass to travel from Land's End to Marshall Meadows, in Berwick-upon-Tweed near the Scottish border, a journey which takes just over nine hours by car. The final-year student at Arts University Bournemouth (AUB) began his journey on January 26 and ended it on February 6, adding he did not travel on February 1 and 2 as part of the challenge due to reduced service frequencies over the weekend. He will soon showcase a 10-hour long film documentary to raise awareness about his 'limited freedoms' as a disabled bus pass user. 'I am exploring what limited freedoms and independence this pass affords me,' Mr Bowhay told the PA news agency. During each leg of his journey, Mr Bowhay travelled up to 10 hours a day, including time in transit on a bus and waiting for a connection. His project, titled 'Between These Times', is a 'slow cinema' style film which emphasises long takes and observational shots. '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,' said Mr Bowhay. Mr Bowhay's bus pass is granted under the English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS), which provides free travel by bus in England to those who are disabled. The pass has its limitations as it is only valid on weekdays from 9.30am to 11pm, and is not available in Scotland or Wales, which causes issues for those who commute to work or live near borders, said Mr Bowhay. He originally wanted to travel from Land's End to John o' Groats, but was limited to finishing at the border as his bus pass does not work in Scotland. Aged four, Mr Bowhay became visually impaired when he developed cataracts in both eyes. Mr Bowhay's left eye was removed and replaced with a prosthetic when he was four 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. Mr Bowhay was inspired to create the film by the difficulties he had accessing public transport independently where he grew up in Bishops Waltham, Hampshire. 'I attend a lot of hospital appointments at Southampton, and getting there independently is pretty impossible,' he said. He said moving home after university does not feel 'viable' as the lack of public transport in the area limits his independence. Of the 26 buses Mr Bowhay took during the 10-day journey, he said only three had audio and one had visual announcements to indicate the location of each stop, making travel more challenging for those with visual or hearing impediments. '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. Problems Mr 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. Mr Bowhay said he wants more investment to go into bus services and for the 'public attitude' to be more understanding of the challenges faced by disabled people using public transport. The film 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.
Metro
6 days ago
- Metro
The important reason this student travelled 850 miles on public buses
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video A photography student 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, 22, used his disabled bus pass to travel from Land's End to Marshall Meadows, in Berwick-upon-Tweed near the Scottish border, a journey which takes just over nine hours by car. The final-year student at Arts University Bournemouth began his journey on January 26 and ended it on February 6. He wasn't able to travel on February 1 and 2 as part of the challenge due to reduced service frequencies over the weekend. And he made this journey for good reason – Dan will soon showcase a 10-hour-long film documentary to raise awareness about his 'limited freedoms' as a disabled bus pass user. 'I am exploring what limited freedoms and independence this pass affords me,' Dan said. During each leg of his journey, Mr Bowhay travelled up to 10 hours a day, including time in transit on a bus and waiting for a connection. His project, titled 'Between These Times', is a 'slow cinema' style film which emphasises long takes and observational shots. '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 added. Dan's bus pass is granted under the English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS), which provides free travel by bus in England to those who are disabled. The pass has its limitations as it is only valid on weekdays from 9.30 am to 11 pm, and is not available in Scotland or Wales, which causes issues for those who commute to work or live near borders. He originally wanted to travel from Land's End to John o' Groats, but was limited to finishing at the border as his bus pass does not work in Scotland. Dan became visually impaired when he developed cataracts in both eyes. His left eye was removed and replaced with a prosthetic when he was four, 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. He is unable to drive and is reliant on public transport for travel. Dan was inspired to create the film by the difficulties he had accessing public transport independently, where he grew up in Bishops Waltham, Hampshire. 'I attend a lot of hospital appointments at Southampton, and getting there independently is pretty impossible,' he said. He said moving home after university does not feel 'viable' as the lack of public transport in the area limits his independence. More Trending 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. He also faced during the trip included bus delays of up to 40 minutes a day, waiting times of up to several hours for connections and difficulties with scanning his pass, meaning he often had to present his pass to a driver. Dan hopes more investment will go into bus services and that the 'public attitude' to be more understanding of the challenges faced by disabled people using public transport. The film 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. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: 'When I die, who will look after my special needs son?' MORE: Deaf woman, 25, who took her own life was 'failed' by mental health services MORE: 'My life is a ticking time bomb – I worry about running out of days to make change'
BBC News
7 days ago
- Health
- BBC News
Disabled student films England bus pass trips to show challenges
A disabled photography student has travelled more than 850 miles on buses across England to highlight the challenges faced by disabled bus pass Bowhay, who is visually impaired, travelled for up to 10 hours a day, catching 26 buses over 10 days from Land's End to final-year student at Arts University Bournemouth (AUB) has made a 10-hour film documentary about his says Between These Times is a "slow cinema" style film which aims to show "how agonisingly slow it is to travel by bus". The 22-year-old, from Bishops Waltham, Hampshire, began his challenge on 26 January and completed it on 6 on his bus pass meant he could only travel after 09:00 on weekdays and could not enter Scotland or Bowhay, who developed cataracts in both eyes at the age of four, has limited vision in just one says moving out of home after university feels "unviable" due to a lack of public said: "I attend a lot of hospital appointments at Southampton, and getting there independently is pretty impossible." During his trip, he said only three of the 26 buses had audio announcements, and one had visual said: "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."Mr Bowhay said he experienced delays of up to 40 minutes, had difficulties scanning his pass, and sometimes waited several hours for is calling for more investment in bus services and for more understanding of the challenges faced by disabled people using public film will be shown at AUB's summer show from 10 to 21 July and at Aberrations Collective's Show in Copeland Gallery, London, from 31 July to 3 August. You can follow BBC Dorset on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
The Independent
7 days ago
- Health
- The Independent
Disabled student's ‘agonisingly slow' journey across England using only public buses
A disabled photography student has travelled more than 850 miles across England by public bus, spotlighting the everyday obstacles faced by disabled bus pass holders. Dan Bowhay, 22, a final-year student at Arts University Bournemouth (AUB), embarked on the 10-day trip from Land's End in Cornwall to Marshall Meadows in Berwick-upon-Tweed, near the Scottish border. The same journey would take just over nine hours by car. Beginning on January 26 and concluding on February 6, Bowhay paused his travels over the weekend of February 1 and 2 to avoid reduced service frequencies. He now plans to showcase a 10-hour documentary film to raise awareness about the "limited freedoms" experienced by disabled bus pass users. 'I am exploring what limited freedoms and independence this pass affords me,' Mr Bowhay told the PA news agency. During each leg of his journey, Mr Bowhay travelled up to 10 hours a day, including time in transit on a bus and waiting for a connection. His project, titled 'Between These Times', is a 'slow cinema' style film which emphasises long takes and observational shots. '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,' said Mr Bowhay. Mr Bowhay's bus pass is granted under the English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS), which provides free travel by bus in England to those who are disabled. The pass has its limitations as it is only valid on weekdays from 9.30am to 11pm, and is not available in Scotland or Wales, which causes issues for those who commute to work or live near borders, said Mr Bowhay. He originally wanted to travel from Land's End to John o' Groats, but was limited to finishing at the border as his bus pass does not work in Scotland. Aged four, Mr Bowhay became visually impaired when he developed cataracts in both eyes. Mr Bowhay's left eye was removed and replaced with a prosthetic when he was four 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. Mr Bowhay was inspired to create the film by the difficulties he had accessing public transport independently, where he grew up in Bishops Waltham, Hampshire. 'I attend a lot of hospital appointments at Southampton, and getting there independently is pretty impossible,' he said. He said moving home after university does not feel 'viable' as the lack of public transport in the area limits his independence. Of the 26 buses Mr Bowhay took during the 10-day journey, he said only three had audio and one had visual announcements to indicate the location of each stop, making travel more challenging for those with visual or hearing impediments. '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. Problems Mr 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. Mr Bowhay said he wants more investment to go into bus services and for the 'public attitude' to be more understanding of the challenges faced by disabled people using public transport. The film 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.
ITV News
7 days ago
- ITV News
Bournemouth disabled student travels more than 850 miles across 10 days on public buses
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. Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know…
