By day he’s Neil Hermes, TTC bus driver extraordinaire, charming riders with warm greetings, graciously-offered directions and irrepressible humor.

But in his off-hours, Hermes takes to the keyboard under the mysterious user name Night Bus Pirate. There he uses social media site Reddit to answer questions and tout a few home truths about transit.

Among them: Is it safe to walk in the suburbs late at night? Are TTC employees accountable for their behaviour? What should I expect if I move to the Eglinton-Danforth area?

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He tells his fans where the neighbourhood gets sketchy, how to report rude drivers and why $3 is a bargain for riding the TTC.

The name, Night Bus Pirate, was inspired by the Ardagh St. stop on his old Jane route — a nice Scottish roll in the “arrrrgh.”

A passionate comic fan since he was 10, Night Bus Pirate isn’t above mixing in a little fan chat in his Reddit posts. He admits he once spent an hour “discussing the awesomeness of Aquaman.”

The tattoos on his left arm represent comic book characters Aquaman, Shazam, The Atom, Deadman, Element Red and Star Boy. Superman is hidden on Hermes’s left calf.

“I wanted the tattoos from the time I was 19, but I wanted to make sure it was the right decision, so I waited until I was 40,” he says to the amusement of an eavesdropping rider.

Night Bus Pirate occasionally veers into bartender territory, too, dispensing advice on subjects as wide-ranging as the best way to kill spiders and his go-to movies for a hangover — Barton Fink or Fargo.

Hermes is up-front about his desire not to annoy his employer. But that doesn’t stop him from keeping it real. He’s got some choice words for rude drivers and riders.

Night Bus Pirate also, however, defends colleagues under fire in the media. The TTC operator who was recorded recently refusing to let a sick woman off the bus between stops kept his cool and did the right thing, he writes.

Applying for work at the TTC was an “act of desperation,” says Hermes, as he steers the number 9 Bellamy bus from Warden station to the Scarborough Town Centre. The advertising company where he worked as a production manager went under. At 38, Hermes found himself talking to guys of 40 and 50 who were struggling to land entry-level jobs. He decided that driving a bus had to be better.

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“I’ve always loved to drive and, as it turns out, it seems to suit my personality,” said the 43-year-old Scarborough father, who admits he’s a ham at the helm of his bus microphone. Pulling out of Warden, he warns riders they’ll get more than automated stop announcements. Hermes is good to his word, greeting everyone personally as they board and making sure those who aren’t certain where to get off, don’t miss their stop.

He started out in the west end, driving nights on Finch and Jane, some of the roughest routes in the city.

Jane was his favourite: “Fun and scary, you meet the most crazy, interesting people,” said Hermes, who greets every single Bellamy bus customer with a cheery “good morning.”

His specialty is the TTC riders other drivers dread — the teenagers and the mentally ill. Hermes asks a group of high school kids who climb aboard mid-morning about their exams. Their faces morph from astonishment to pleasure. Other drivers are tough with teens, he said, mostly because they travel in packs and tend to be loud.

He likes to razz the gangsters and the wannabes, using the mic in the bus to call for “a shout out to the haters” or telling his riders that “real gangsters don’t take the bus.” In four years, he’s never been assaulted, although there have been a few threats.

“The drivers who get beat up are the ones who argue the fare box,” said Hermes. He said he was trained to understand that driver safety trumps fare collection at the TTC.

Unlike some drivers who are too rushed or bored to offer directions, Hermes says “it is incredibly rewarding” to break the communication barriers with Toronto’s newcomers, who often have no idea how to navigate the city and the TTC.

The biggest misconception about TTC drivers, he says, is how difficult the job is. With his eyes firmly on the road and the bus mirrors, Hermes indicates a dog on the sidewalk and a car in the left. He’s braced for the dog to bolt into the road or the car to come up beside him as he moves into the next lane.

“If you miss a light you’re a minute behind on the schedule,” said Hermes.

It’s clear that Night Bus Pirate loves his face-to-face customers. He lets the regulars know he’ll be on another route next week and shakes hands to keep the connection until he’s back. He lowers the bus to help women with strollers and seniors board. But it’s a safety measure, too, he said. It helps customers avoid tripping and it’s impossible to tell just by looking who has a disability or injury that could make the step up difficult.

TTC riders are most miserable and Toronto drivers are most aggressive in the morning rush, says Hermes.

“But the same person who will yell and scream about being late in the morning will be the nicest person in the world at night. It’s just stress,” he said.

Besides, adds Night Bus Pirate, “Villains are always more exciting than heroes.”