Staying safe

There’s lots to think about as you travel on the bus

The most important thing to think about is how you can keep yourself safe

Don’t get distracted. Don’t rush. Be aware of what’s going on around you.

Have you left enough time to get to where you’re going?
Have you remembered to take everything with you?
Is the bus going to be on time?
Have you told someone where you’re going and when they can expect to see you?
Do your parents, carers or guardians have a note of your card number?

You can also go to the Accessible Travel Hub’s Hate Crime Charter to understand more about what you can do if you come across unacceptable behaviour.

Staying safe on the bus

Watch this quick video to find out how we can all help each other

Video Transcript

Tips for parents and guardians

We’re encouraging all parents and guardians to have conversations with their kids about safe and confident bus travel.

Tips for parents

Driver training

We’ve worked closely with Barnardo’s Scotland to provide simple and clear guidance for bus drivers on child safeguarding. This covers a huge range of issues and provides helpful advice for drivers on how to report issues if they arise.

Martin Crewe, Director for Barnardo’s Scotland said:

“The free bus travel scheme for under 22s creates a wealth of new opportunities for young people to access education, work, training and leisure activities, so more young people are likely to use bus services as a result.

“Barnardo’s Scotland is proud to have worked with Transport Scotland to create a bespoke training package on child safeguarding for bus drivers across Scotland.

“Through training in general safeguarding and the signs of exploitation, we have helped to give bus drivers the confidence to recognise risks to young passengers’ safety and provided them with the knowledge of what to do and who to speak to if they have any concerns.”

Visit Barnardo’s Scotland for more information on their work and support.