Public Transport Accident Claims
Bus, coach, train, tram and taxi
As a passenger you have almost no control over what happens, which is why the law tends to be on your side when something goes wrong. If you were injured on public transport and it was not your fault, you may be able to make a public transport accident claim. You do not need to know who was to blame before you call us.
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Can you make a public transport accident claim?
Usually, if you were injured within the last three years and somebody else was at fault. Operators owe their passengers a duty of care, and so do the other drivers on the road around them. A public transport injury claim can follow a collision, a fall on board, or a hazard at a station or a stop.
It applies whether you were on a bus, a coach, a train, a tram, the Underground or in a taxi, and whether the accident happened on the vehicle, getting on or off it, or at the station or stop. It also applies if you were a pedestrian or in another vehicle hit by a bus or a tram, though that is a different claim and we will say so when we speak.
You do not need to know who was at fault
This is the thing that stops most passengers ringing. You were sitting down, facing the wrong way, or looking at your phone. Something happened, and you have no idea whether the driver of your bus caused it or the car that pulled out did.
You are not expected to know. Working out who was responsible is the job of the claim, not a condition of starting one. Between the operator’s incident log, the CCTV, the police report and the accounts of other passengers, the picture is usually established without you having seen it happen.
Being a passenger also puts you in a strong position. It is rare for a passenger to be blamed for a collision, and where two parties dispute who was at fault, that argument is between their insurers rather than something you have to resolve first.
bus and coach occupants were injured on Great Britain’s roads in 2025, 323 of them killed or seriously injured.
Public transport accidents, and who the claim is against
Who your claim is against depends on what you were travelling on, and working that out is the first thing we do.
You were on a bus or a coach
Against the operator, met by their insurer, and against the other driver as well where a collision caused it. You are not choosing between them: we name whoever the evidence supports, and more than one is normal.
You were on a train, a tram or the Underground
Against the train operator, the company that manages the station, or the owner of the track, and in a station fall it is frequently two of the three. This is the one where passengers most often give up, because there is no obvious person to blame.
You were in a taxi or a private hire car
Against your driver’s insurer or the other driver’s. You do not have to wait for the two of them to agree which, and a black cab, a private hire car and an app-based ride are all treated the same way.
You were a passenger in a car
Against the driver’s insurer, not against the driver. If that was a friend, a relative or a colleague, the claim is paid by the policy rather than out of their pocket, which is the thing that stops most people ringing at all.
Bus accident claims
Bus passengers are hurt more often standing still than in collisions. Most of the claims we handle come from movement inside the vehicle rather than an impact with something outside it: braking and pulling away sharply, doors closing too early or the bus moving off before you are on, falls on the steps, injuries to people getting off with shopping or a pushchair, and worn handrails, wet floors or broken seating. Being thrown forward while standing is a very common cause of a bus accident claim and one passengers often wrongly assume is their own fault.
Where the cause was a maintenance failure the operator should have picked up, their inspection records matter, and we request them. Coach accident claims are handled the same way, including tours and private hire.
Being thrown forward while standing, or before you have reached a seat. A very common cause of a bus accident claim, and one passengers often wrongly assume is their own fault.
Including falls on the steps and injuries to people getting off with shopping or a pushchair.
Maintenance failures the operator should have picked up, which is where their inspection records matter.
Where a bus passenger accident claim may be against the operator, the other driver, or both.
A coach accident claim can follow luggage falling from overhead racks, a fall on the steps, or a collision on a longer journey. Accidents abroad have their own rules and shorter deadlines.
Taxi and private hire accident claims
A taxi passenger accident claim is usually the simplest claim on this page to bring and the one passengers are least likely to make. Whether your driver caused the collision or the other one did, you can claim. If they disagree about it, the argument is between their insurers, not something you need to settle first.
Black cabs, private hire and app-based rides
All are covered, and it makes no difference whether you hailed it, booked it or ordered it in an app. Keep the booking confirmation or the receipt, because it identifies the vehicle and the operator, which is the one thing that is hard to reconstruct later.
Getting in and out
Being dropped in an unsafe spot, or a door opened into traffic or into a cyclist. The duty does not end when the vehicle stops.
Missing or defective seat belts
Not wearing one may reduce your compensation, but it does not by itself prevent a claim. A belt that was missing, broken or inaccessible is the operator’s problem, not yours.
If the driver was the one at fault
A licensed taxi or private hire vehicle must be insured to carry passengers for hire and reward. If it turns out it was not, the claim does not stop there, as the next section explains.
Train, tram and Underground accident claims
Most rail injuries happen at the station rather than on the train, and responsibility can sit with the operator, the station manager or the infrastructure owner.
Falls while boarding or leaving a train, especially where the step or gap was poorly lit or unmarked.
Station falls where cleaning, signage or maintenance fell short. A train station accident claim is usually against whoever manages the station.
Being caught in closing doors, or injured because a service was dangerously full.
Including collisions with pedestrians and cyclists at street-level crossings.
The compensation floor for long-distance coach passengers
There is a minimum level of compensation written into retained law for some bus and coach journeys, and it is unusually high. Under Article 7 of Regulation (EU) No 181/2011, which continues to apply in the United Kingdom, compensation for death or personal injury must be not less than £190,000 per passenger, with £1,000 per item of luggage, and mobility equipment covered at the full cost of replacement or repair with no cap at all.
The floor applies to regular services with a scheduled distance of 250 km or more, and to occasional services such as coach tours and private hire coaches where the first boarding or last alighting point is in the United Kingdom. For a regular service of less than 250 km, Article 2(2) applies only a short list of other articles, and Article 7 is not among them. So a local bus route is not covered by this floor. A Birmingham to London coach is.
Where it does apply, Article 8 also requires the carrier to provide reasonable and proportionate assistance for immediate practical needs after an accident, including accommodation for up to two nights at up to £70 a night. Accepting that assistance does not mean anyone has admitted liability, and the Article says so, which is worth knowing because passengers often refuse help for exactly that reason.
If your journey was a local one, none of this reduces your claim. It simply means the claim rests on the ordinary duty of care rather than on a statutory floor, which is how the great majority of the claims on this page are brought in any event.
If the vehicle was uninsured or the driver was never traced
Being hit by an uninsured driver, or by one who drove off, does not leave you without a claim. The Motor Insurers’ Bureau exists for exactly these two situations and is funded by every insurer writing motor cover in the United Kingdom. Which of its two agreements applies depends on whether the driver was identified.
The driver was identified but uninsured
The claim is made under the MIB’s Uninsured Drivers’ Agreement, which covers claims against an identified driver who had no valid insurance in place. An unlicensed or improperly insured private hire vehicle falls here.
The driver was never identified
The claim is made under the Untraced Drivers’ Agreement. That covers a driver who drove away, and one who refused to give their details or gave false ones.
Report the collision to the police if that has not already happened, and keep the incident reference. An MIB application needs it, and it is far easier to get in the weeks after the accident than a year later. We make the application for you.
Accidents on public transport abroad, and why the deadline can be two years
If your journey was by air or by sea, the three year rule does not apply and the deadline is two years. This is the one thing on this page that can cost someone their claim through no fault of their own, which is why it is here rather than in the FAQ.
By air
The Montreal Convention 1999 governs injury on an international flight. The carrier’s strict liability limit rose to 151,880 Special Drawing Rights on 28 December 2024, up from 128,821, and above that the carrier can escape liability only by proving it was not negligent. The deadline is two years from the date the aircraft arrived, or ought to have arrived.
By sea
The Athens Convention as amended by its 2002 Protocol governs injury on a ferry or a cruise, and has applied since 23 April 2014. Liability is strict up to 250,000 Special Drawing Rights and can reach 400,000 where the carrier is at fault. The deadline is again two years.
Special Drawing Rights are an international unit, not a currency, and the sterling equivalent moves with the exchange rate. We will not print a conversion on this page, because it would be wrong within the week. We will work out what it means for your claim when we speak.
What a passenger injury claim can cover
A claim is in two halves.
General damages cover the injury itself and its effect on your life.
Special damages cover your financial losses, which on public transport accident claims often include things people forget to mention, like a phone smashed in the fall or a season ticket for journeys you could no longer make.
A claim can take account of
- The injury, your recovery and any lasting effects
- Lost earnings, now and in the future
- Treatment, physiotherapy and travel to appointments
- Damaged belongings, such as a phone, glasses or a laptop
- Care from family, and anxiety about travelling since
How much compensation for a public transport injury claim?
Nobody can give you a figure from a description, and a firm that does is guessing. What decides it is the injury, how long it lasts, and what it cost you, and the first two of those come from a medical report rather than from the phone call.
General damages for the injury are assessed against the Judicial College Guidelines, now in their 18th edition, published on 9 April 2026. That is the book the other side’s insurer will be working from too. Passenger injury compensation then has your financial losses added on top, and on public transport claims those are often larger than people expect once lost earnings and the replacement of damaged belongings are counted.
How long do you have to make a claim?
Three years from the date of the accident in most cases, under section 11 of the Limitation Act 1980. For an accident on a flight or a ferry it is two years, as set out above, and that is the exception that catches people out.
- If you were under 18, time does not run against you until your eighteenth birthday, so you have until you are 21.
- If the injured person lacks capacity to conduct a claim, the three years may not have started at all.
- A court has a discretion under section 33 to allow a claim brought late, but it is a discretion and never something to rely on.
- If you are close to the deadline, that is a reason to ring today rather than a reason not to ring. The position is often better than people assume.
Evidence that supports a public transport accident claim
One thing here is genuinely time-sensitive. Operators overwrite CCTV on a cycle measured in weeks, so the sooner someone asks them to preserve it, the better.
Did not get anyone’s details? Passengers rarely do. Operators keep records of who was driving and when, and we request them.
No Win No Fee public transport accident claims
A No Win No Fee agreement, properly called a Conditional Fee Agreement, means there is nothing to pay upfront. If the claim does not succeed, you do not pay us for our work, subject to the terms of your agreement.
If it succeeds, a success fee agreed with you in advance is deducted from your compensation, and insurance is usually arranged to cover the other side’s costs. You will see the percentage in writing, and have it explained, before you sign anything.If it succeeds, a success fee agreed with you in advance is deducted from your compensation, and insurance is usually arranged to cover the other side’s costs. You will see the percentage in writing, and have it explained, before you sign anything.
You will see the full terms in writing before your claim begins.
Public transport accident claims
your questions answered
Everything you need to know before starting your claim.
Can I claim if I was injured on a bus that braked suddenly?
Usually yes. Being thrown forward while standing, or before you reached a seat, is one of the most common public transport injuries and one passengers most often assume is their own fault. Whether the braking was avoidable is a question for the claim, not for you.
Who do I claim against if I was a passenger?
The transport operator, another road user, the company managing a station, or more than one of them. You do not need to work this out before contacting us. If the other driver was never traced or had no insurance, there is a route to compensation through the Motor Insurers’ Bureau.
What if I did not report it at the time?
You can still claim. Plenty of people get off the bus, feel shaken but able to carry on, and only realise the next morning how badly they were hurt. Reporting it helps, but it is not a requirement. We will look for the operator’s own records, which often exist even when nobody made a formal report.
How do I get the CCTV from a bus or train?
We ask the operator to preserve and release it. The important thing is speed, because footage is routinely overwritten within weeks, so a request made early is far more likely to succeed than one made months later. The route, the time and roughly where you were sitting is usually enough for them to find it.
How much compensation could I get?
It depends on the injury, how long it lasts and what it cost you. General damages are assessed against the Judicial College Guidelines, now in their 18th edition, and your financial losses are added on top. We will give you a range once there is a medical report, and not before.
How long do I have to make a claim?
Three years from the accident in most cases. For an accident on a flight it is two years, and for one on a ferry or a cruise it is also two. If you were under 18 the three years start at your eighteenth birthday.
Can I claim as a taxi passenger if the drivers blame each other?
Yes, and you do not have to wait for them to agree. Whether your driver or the other one was at fault, you were a passenger in neither position to prevent it. The argument about shares of blame is between their insurers.
Does the £190,000 minimum apply to my local bus journey?
No. That figure comes from Article 7 of Regulation (EU) No 181/2011, and Article 2 applies it to regular services with a scheduled distance of 250 km or more, and to coach tours and similar occasional services. A local route is below that threshold. Your claim is unaffected, it simply rests on the ordinary duty of care.
What if I was not wearing a seat belt in the taxi?
You can still claim. Not wearing one may reduce the compensation to reflect your share of the responsibility, but it does not prevent a claim. If the belt was missing, broken or inaccessible, that is the operator’s failing rather than yours.
I was hurt at the station rather than on the train. Can I still claim?
Yes, and most rail injuries happen that way. Responsibility can sit with the train operator, the company managing the station or the infrastructure owner, and working out which is our job
Do I have to go to court?
Most claims settle without a hearing. If one is needed we prepare it with you and go with you. Nothing is accepted without your agreement, and we advise you before you decide.
Find out where you stand
Tell us what you remember, even if that is not much. We will tell you whether there is a claim worth bringing and what it would involve. If we do not think there is, we will say so.
- Free, no-obligation review
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Other road traffic claims we handle
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The CCTV that would show what happened is usually wiped within weeks, which is the one reason not to leave this. A short conversation costs nothing and puts you under no obligation.
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