Police are to use sniffer dogs to clamp down on drug use on Birmingham buses after a city councillor claimed one route was so bad it had been described as the "marijuana express".
West Midlands Police will use the animals to track down drug users and boost the reputation of the bus network.
Last week Coun Paul Tilsley, deputy leader of the city council, said dwindling bus patronage would never be reversed until drug problems were overcome.
He highlighted the number 50 service from Birmingham city centre to the Maypole as having an "appalling" reputation.
The initiative is being carried out by Safer Travel, a team of police officers who work on the bus networks in the West Midlands to reduce crime and increase community safety for passengers.
PC Pete Christie, from Safer Travel, said: "There are currently some concerns among the public that people are smoking drugs on their buses. I would like to reas-sure bus travellers that we regularly patrol the buses with the drugs dogs."
