Public Transport Risk Assessment Template

Typical hazards & measures

• Ticket gates and pinch points — Group by ticket type, preload cards, send pupils through in small waves with an adult beyond the barrier, direct mis-reads straight to staff while others hold position at a visible meeting point, and only move off when all members are through.
• Medical emergencies in transit — Carry first aid, inhalers and auto-injectors with a named adult, seat vulnerable pupils near exits, identify AED locations on arrival, and agree a drill to stop, treat, and either continue or hand over to responders without leaving anyone unsupervised.
• Inadequate route planning — Plan primary and backup routes with interchange times and platform numbers, print maps and contact trees, pre-assign staff to front/middle/rear, set clear rendezvous points, and brief pupils on the timetable so progress continues smoothly if timings drift or signage is unclear.
• Payment and ticketing problems — Load tickets and cards in advance, carry a float and backup payment methods, allocate a staff member to resolve validator issues, keep the group beyond the gates until all members have passed, and request a manual override if systems fail.
• Supervision ratios and briefing — Set ratios by age and crowd risk, position adults at front, middle and rear with one at gates, deliver a clear pre-brief on signals, rules and contingencies, and pause the journey whenever visibility or control drops below the agreed standard.