Police say a man who has confessed to the fatal stabbing a city bus driver in Brooklyn was arraigned Wednesday on second-degree murder charges and is being held without bail.

Police say Horace Moore, 20, admitted to stabbing B46 driver Edwin Thomas in Bedford-Stuyvesant on Monday.

Moore reportedly has a long rap sheet, including an attempted murder conviction.

Police say witnesses identified him in a lineup.

Investigators now believe Moore boarded the bus through the back door without paying, which is particularly common on the B46 route. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority revealed earlier this year the B46 route had the most fare evaders of any route in the city, with an average of 4,000 people a week boarding without paying.

Police say Moore approached Thomas, seen on the right, asking for a free transfer, and when he refused, began arguing with him in the street.

According to police, Moore punched Thomas in the head and then followed him back onto the bus and stabbed him before running off. Thomas was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.

Thomas' son says he always gave his father a warning before he left for work.

"I always told him, every time he went to work, 'Dad be careful, it's a little crazy out there. Be careful and just let things slide,'" said the victim's son. "He was like real strict about everything. He loved his job."

One passenger on the B46 said she has seen most drivers wave fare beaters on, just to avoid a fight.

"I take the bus day and night. See it all the time, all the time," said the passenger.

Bus driver Donald Chung, 60, who has driven the B46 route for 14 years, said the MTA discourages confrontations with fare beaters, but encourages drivers to not let them off easy.

"You tell them the fare is $2 and that's that. That’s the best I could do," said Chung.

"[Drivers are] being told they shouldn't challenge anyone but they are still being told to say well the fare is $2," said Transport Workers Union secretary-treasurer Ed Watt. "Well, sometimes people can take that as a challenge as well."

But following Thomas' death, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the Transit Workers Union are discussing ways to increase security. On Wednesday, the Joint Bus Operator Assault Committee, a union-management group, tasked with addressing the common problem of assault on bus drivers, met to discuss new options for protecting drivers.

Among the possibilities: a 911 panic button drivers can press to alert police, and some form of physical barrier, likes the ones used in taxis.

"If we had a plexiglass barrier it would be good, but let's see if they do that. Right now we have to make do with what we have," said Chung.

"Any money that is spent as a result of the decisions coming out of this committee will save lives, will save the authority money," said Watt. "It'll save them money on absenteeism, it'll save them money on health costs."

Officials from both the MTA and the union say they will also call on the state Legislature to strengthen penalties for anyone convicted of assaulting a bus driver.

Meanwhile, a wake will be held for Thomas this Sunday at the Andre Torregrossa & Sons Funeral Home on Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn. A funeral mass will take place Monday at the Sacred Heart Church in Cambria Heights, Queens.

Thomas will be buried at the Nassau Knolls Cemetery on Long Island.