A man aboard the 96 Wilson bus route waves a steak knife in front of a pregnant woman’s stomach before punching her in the head. A public masturbator on the 53 Steeles East line ejaculates on another passenger’s sleeve.

These incidents represent just two of more than 4,000 crimes that have taken place on board TTC buses since 2010. A Star analysis of transit system data has uncovered the graphic details of crimes committed on four wheels and the routes where they take place.

The 36 Finch West route tops the list with 322 incidents, followed by the 35 Jane with 260, and 32 Eglinton West with 164. In total, the crime rate on Toronto buses has steadily declined over the past three years.

Fraud — particularly counterfeit Metropasses — is the most prevalent criminal offence, with 952 incidents. Assaults on drivers (896) and passengers (300) also made the top five, along with mischief and threats.

Other examples:

After threatening to rip out the driver’s throat, a passenger exited the 300 Bloor/Danforth bus and proceeded to throw a beer bottle and grapefruit at it from the outside.

A commuter punched a woman in the face along the 35 Jane line because three baby strollers in the aisle were blocking his way.

A Cherry St. bus patron claiming to have HIV threatened to smear his bloody knuckles on a driver.

When ridership numbers were factored in, the Lawrence East Night bus, along with several other night routes, were associated with the most incidents per passenger.

TTC officials declined to comment on why some routes attracted more crime than others, saying the safety and security of its customers and employees is “paramount, system-wide.”

“It is important to understand that there is no one route or area of the city that needs more attention than another — they’re all important and all get equal attention,” spokesperson Brad Ross said in an email to the Star.

Ross explained that TTC special constables will often target and ride specific routes in response to safety concerns raised by operators and riders.

Yet their presence is little comfort to workers on the front lines, according to the union representing transit workers.

“The special constables, or rainbow squad as we refer to them, always arrive after the storm,” said Bob Kinnear, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 113. The TTC confirmed that in the majority of incidents its enforcement unit responds to, the suspect has already departed when the constables arrive.

Kinnear also cast doubt on the special constables’ ability to protect drivers and defuse situations during a crime-in-progress.

“The public doesn’t take them seriously,” he said. “They have a real perceived lack of authority out there.”

As a result, Kinnear suggested the TTC replace special constables with “real police officers” instead.

The Toronto Police Service declined to comment on the proposal.

“We work closely with the TTC and will continue to do so, but it is not appropriate for us to comment on how they structure their security arrangements,” said Toronto police spokesperson Mark Pugash

Kinnear did credit the TTC, however, for implementing a variety of safeguards to help keep both drivers and riders safe.

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Buses now come equipped with Plexiglas shields to separate the driver from violent passengers. Closed-circuit TV cameras record video footage of incidents, which can be replayed later during police investigations. The transit system’s court advocate program — which helps employees assaulted on the job navigate through the legal system — received a safety leadership award from the Canadian Urban Transit Association last year.

While the five-year trend for driver assaults is down, the offence is still logged as the second most common crime on TTC buses. A 2008 Star investigation found Toronto transit drivers were suffering from severe stress usually associated with survivors of combat, natural disasters and rape. Over the past two and a half years, bus operators were found to have been assaulted more than 400 times, by passengers brandishing weapons ranging from knives to fruit.

Ross added the TTC is also planning to release an app in the near future that will allow riders to anonymously report incidents such as “unwanted attention or harassment.”

METHODOLOGY:

The Star’s analysis is based on criminal code and provincial bylaw incident data logged by the TTC from Jan. 1, 2010, to Aug. 10, 2015.