The bus does not come
You have been waiting twenty-five minutes. The app says the bus is canceled. It is getting dark and your battery is at 8%.
What do you do?
Step 1: What Would You Do?
There is often more than one good answer. Pick one and see what happens.
A stranger offers help
You are clearly lost. Somebody you do not know offers you a lift.
What do you do?
Step 2: What That Was
The name for what you just worked out.
Before you set off, know how you would get back. That is the part people skip and the part that goes wrong.
Assume the phone dies
Know one number by heart, carry a little cash or a card, and have a rough idea of the route without the map.
If you end up somewhere wrong
Stop. Do not keep going hoping it corrects itself. Work out where you are, then decide.
Who to ask
Staff, a shop, a station desk. People whose job puts them there are safer and better informed than whoever is nearest.
Step 3: Try It
These ones do have right answers.
Before You Go
Sort by whether it helps when things go wrong.
Which of these actually help if the plan breaks?
Tap something to move it.
- Empty
- Empty
Step 4: Quick Check
Two questions, then you are done.
Question 1 of 1
You have got on the wrong bus. What is the best first move?
Step 5: Your Life Mission
Something to do away from the screen. Nobody is checking.
Plan the way back
- Take a journey you make regularly.
- Write down how you would get back if your phone died at the far end.
- Check you know one number by heart.
Why: Everybody plans the way there. Almost nobody plans the way back, which is where things go wrong.
Step 6: What You Learned
- Know how you would get back before you go.
- Assume the phone dies: one number, some cash, a rough route.
- If it goes wrong, stop early and ask staff.
For the grown-up
Independent travel is built in steps — a known route alone, then an unfamiliar one, then one with a change. Each step should be slightly beyond the last rather than a leap.
The recovery skills matter more than the route. A young person who knows what to do when the plan fails can handle journeys you have not rehearsed.
Agree what happens if they cannot reach you, and make it clear that being collected is always available with no argument attached. A young person who fears the row will make a worse decision to avoid it.