Hundreds of offences on buses have been reported to police this year
Hundreds of crimes have been recorded on buses this year (stock image).(Image: WMCA)
The bus services in the West Midlands where passengers are most at risk of becoming victims of crime can be revealed.
Thousands of people use buses every day to get around the region, whether it’s commuting to work, going to the shops or visiting family, and most of them do so without experiencing any problems.
But it’s not always the case, as passengers have had to put up with serious crime and rowdy behaviour on board.
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We sent a freedom of information request to West Midlands Police (WMP) to find out which bus services were subject to most recorded offences so far this year.
Hundreds of crimes on board buses have been reported to police.
At the top of the list is the number 14 service, which runs from Birmingham city centre to Chelmsley Wood.
A total of 30 offences have been recorded by WMP relating to this service.
Criminal damage and arson make up for around two thirds of offences (19), while there were five violence against the person offences, two thefts and two public order offences.
There was also one robbery on the number 14 and one possession of a weapon.
However, in terms of violence, it is the number of 74 which could be considered most dangerous.
This service runs from Birmingham to Dudley, via West Bromwich.
While there were two fewer overall crimes recorded than the number 14, there were 14 violence against the person offences on the 74 compared to five on the number 14.
There were also six public order offences on the number 74, which can include fights, threats and disorder, and four thefts.
The 74 was top of the crime list last year, showing how this route does suffer problems.
These are only offences where details of the bus service were recorded by police, while there are likely crimes which happen on buses which go unreported.
However, the overall risk of crime on board a bus remains very low when taking into the account the number of journeys which happen every day.
West Midlands bus services with highest reported offences in 2025
number 14 – 30number 74 – 28number 6 – 27number 95 – 24number 97 – 23number 50 – 20number 11C – 19number 94 – 19number 7 – 19number 9 – 17
Violence against the person is the most common offence on buses (238 this year), followed by criminal damage and arson (185), theft (119) and public order (103).
A spokesperson for National Express West Midlands said: “Around four million passenger journeys are made safely on National Express West Midlands buses each week and the chances of becoming a victim of crime on a bus are very low.
“Recent figures show a year on year reduction in crime across the West Midlands bus network and we continue to work very closely with the Safer Travel policing team to reduce this further.
“Passengers should always dial 999 if there is an urgent crime or an emergency. Alternatively they can use the Safer Travel’s See Something, Say Something service to discreetly report non-emergency incidents.
“Simply text SeeSay and details of the incident including time, date, location and route number to 81018.”
Inspector Ivan Merc, police manager with the West Midlands Safer Travel Partnership, said: “We have seen a considerable reduction in the year on year crime figures for passengers using the region’s bus network.
“The chance of being a victim of crime on a bus in the West Midlands remains extremely low and we continue to make efforts to make it safer still, with high visibility patrols conducted regularly by officers from Safer Travel as well as Transport Safety officers from Transport for West Midlands.
“We also conduct regular operations in key areas with our partners utilising a number of different tactics to tackle and reduce crime.”
