Capital's most dangerous bus routes

The most dangerous bus routes in London can be revealed today.

The figures are published a day after five ticket inspectors were suspended when they refused to work on bendy buses for fear of being attacked.

Police, who are concentrating on 28 out of the capital's 700 bus routes, were called to more than 370 incidents in one month. But officials stressed that this number is small compared with the six million journeys taken every day, and insisted buses are getting safer.

Today's figures - the first time detailed information about specific bus routes has been made public - emerge from information collated by the transport operational command unit, set up by the Met Police and Transport for London two years ago.

The findings show that the No 207, which runs along the Uxbridge Road between Shepherd's Bush and Uxbridge, suffered most disturbances between 25 October and 25 November. Police were called by a driver 38 times - mostly over disputes between passengers, though there were also eight instances of criminal damage, three violent attacks and one theft.

The No 29, which runs between Trafalgar Square and Palmers Green, and the 253, which runs from Hackney to Euston, were worst for thefts and robberies, each clocking up five instances over the month.

Overall, the transport unit was called to 272 disturbances, 47 instances of criminal damage, 30 robberies or thefts and 26 violent offences over the period. Taken with forgery and fraud, traffic accidents, vehicle problems and security alerts, they were called on 1,090 occasions.

A unit spokesman said: "Buses in London are pretty safe to travel on and more incidents are now being reported. Some of them do go through some pretty rough areas, in which a lot of criminal damage is done to buses. Disturbances include things like one person having a go at another person. Maybe somebody bumped into another without apologising, and they get nasty."

The 28 routes were chosen for patrol because of the potential for trouble. They include bendy bus routes 25 and 436 - where fare evasion is a problem - and those which pass through rougher areas, such as the 220 in Harlesden and 28 and 328 in Harrow Road.

The 57, which runs through Kingston, Merton, Wandsworth and Lambeth, has also been singled out after months of reports of on-board rowdiness and motorists blocking bus lanes.

The transport unit's 965 officers are charged with keeping London's major bus routes crime and congestionfree. They made 4,188 arrests in the year to April - almost three times more than in the previous 12 months.