Man takes 137-mile journey across England using five buses for £10

Man takes 137-mile journey from Derby to Whitby using five buses all capped at £2 each

• Andrew Cowell’s 137-mile journey on five buses through four counties cost £10 
• He took advantage of the Government’s £2 bus fare cap, introduced last year 

A man has used the Government’s £2 bus fare cap to travel hundreds of miles across England.

Andrew Cowell, 47, travelled 137 miles on buses from his home in Derby, Derbyshire, to Whitby, North Yorkshire, on Thursday.

Mr Cowell left his home in Allestree, Derbyshire, at 6.40am and arrived in the seaside town of Whitby, North Yorkshire, at 4.40pm.

The journey cost £10 and involved five buses through Derbyshire, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire and North Yorkshire.

Andrew Cowell, 47, (pictured) travelled 137 miles on buses from his home in Derby, Derbyshire, to Whitby, North Yorkshire, on Thursday

Mr Cowell left his home in Allestree, Derbyshire, at 6.40am and arrived in the seaside town of Whitby, North Yorkshire, at 4.40pm

The journey cost £10 and involved five buses through Derbyshire, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire and North Yorkshire

Mr Cowell, a railway operations planner, said he liked ‘scenery’ and the ‘sea’ so Whitby was the obvious choice of destination.  

He added: ‘It was partly inspired by a woman who travelled from London to Scotland on buses.

‘I knew I was going to have some holidays between jobs so I just looked where I could get from Derby that was sort of a pleasant place to spend the night.

‘I’ve got a little bit of background knowledge because I work in public transport but I planned it out and researched it on the bus companies’ websites.’

What is the Government £2 bus fare cap?

The Department for Transport announced the £60million scheme in September 2022 to help with the cost-of-living crisis – as well as helping the bus industry recover after the pandemic.

The scheme applied to 130 bus operators outside London and capped single adult bus fares at £2 – bringing fares down from the national average of £2.80 – and some rural prices of over £5. 

Manchester, Liverpool and West Yorkshire – all of which have Labour mayors – had already introduced £2 caps as part of longer-term schemes. 

The national scheme is expected to continue until June 2023.

Mr Cowell said ‘everything worked faultlessly’ and all the buses ‘arrived and departed right on time.’

He added: ‘The coast liner which I was catching was the last one from Leeds to Whitby.

‘I had a five minute connection in Barnsley so I was a bit worried but everything worked faultlessly and arrived and departed right on time.’

He said his favourite bus route was the 840 Coastliner which goes from Leeds to Whitby through the Yorkshire Moors.

He added: ‘The Coastliner goes right through the Yorkshire Moors and then it goes to where they film Heartbeat. 

”It was a sunny day so it was a nice journey from the top deck of the bus.

‘It’s three and a half hours but to be honest, it doesn’t feel like that when you’re on the top deck as there’s a lot to keep you interested as soon as you’re out of Leeds.’

He said that although the ‘industry is under threat’ with rising costs, his journey proved that ‘buses turn up’ and that they aren’t ‘as bad as what people think’.

He added: ‘The industry is under threat like never before with rising costs and the bounce back from Covid.

‘But I think as this journey proved, the basics were right and the buses turned up so it’s probably not as bad as what people think.’ 

‘I have a car like a lot of people but I use it when there isn’t an alternative.

‘I think the thing is about public transport is that it tends to be looked at as a profit for loss but it provides a safe service for quite a few older people.

‘It combats loneliness and gives access to people with jobs who otherwise wouldn’t be able to have that job if the bus wasn’t there.

‘You need to value the bus because you won’t know what you’ve lost before it’s gone.’

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