Disabled student films bus trips to show challenges

Dan Bowhay is a disabled student who has created a powerful project to highlight the difficulties faced by disabled bus pass users in England. Dan, who is visually impaired, traveled over 850 miles by bus, taking 26 different bus rides over 10 days. His journey started at Land's End, the southwestern tip of England, and ended at Berwick-upon-Tweed in the northeast. During this trip, Dan faced many challenges that show how difficult it can be for disabled people to use public transport. He made a 10-hour documentary film called Between These Times, which uses a slow cinema style to show how slow and frustrating bus travel can be for people with disabilities. Dan is a final-year student at Arts University Bournemouth and began his journey on January 26, finishing on February 6. His disabled bus pass has restrictions: it is only valid after 9 a. m. on weekdays and cannot be used in Scotland or Wales. Dan developed cataracts in both eyes when he was four years old and now has limited vision in one eye. He explained that moving out of his family home after university seems impossible because public transport is so difficult to use independently. He often needs to travel to hospital appointments in Southampton, but getting there by bus is very challenging. Throughout his journey, Dan noticed that only three of the 26 buses had audio announcements to help passengers know their stops, and only one had visual announcements. This lack of information made it hard for him to know where he was and when to get off. He often had to look out the window carefully to figure out his location. Dan also experienced delays of up to 40 minutes, problems scanning his bus pass, and sometimes had to wait several hours to catch connecting buses. Through his film and journey, Dan is calling for more investment in bus services and greater awareness of the challenges disabled people face when using public transport. His documentary will be shown at Arts University Bournemouth's summer show in July and later at the Aberrations Collective's Show in London.