A teenager has been charged after he went on a bus with a 46-centimetre machete tucked into his pants, police say.

The 17-year-old got onto a Winnipeg Transit bus at the corner of Main Street and Manitoba Avenue around 4:45 p.m. on Sunday.

There were two Winnipeg police foot patrol officers riding the bus. The officers noticed the handle of the machete sticking out of the waistband of the teenager's pants, police said.

The officers arrested the teenager on the bus. He was charged with possession and concealing a weapon.

Winnipeg police spokesperson Const. Tammy Skrabek said police have been riding buses for short distances on various routes through the North End neighbourhood.

"We are very lucky that the [police] transit members were on there and that the male didn't act out to harm any other passengers on the bus," she said.

The stabbing death of a Winnipeg Transit driver in February sparked safety concerns around buses in the city.

Irvine J. Fraser, 58, was attacked at the University of Manitoba and died after being taken to hospital. Brian Kyle Thomas, 22, was charged with second-degree murder.

At the time, the Amalgamated Transit Union said assaults happen regularly on transit buses.