A suspect with at least 30 prior arrests and still on parole for assault was just busted for robbing a Manhattan straphanger and smashing him over the head with a cane, police sources told The Post.

The 21-year-old victim was aboard a southbound No. 3 train at the 148th Street subway station shortly before 9:30 a.m. Saturday when suspect Darien Bailey, 39, grabbed his AirPods and ran, sources said.

The victim chased the culprit off the train at the station and got into a scuffle with him there, with the assailant slamming him twice in the head with a cane before cops were able to step in, sources said.

Bailey was charged with second-degree assault in the incident.

The victim refused medical attention at the station, the sources said.

According to sources, Bailey has 30 previous busts, including for grand larceny, resisting arrest and assault. His arrests include a grand larceny bust Nov. 3, robbery, assault busts in June and a petty larceny arrest in January.

He is on parole till February 2026 for an assault case, sources said.

His mental history includes eight reported incidents of being emotionally disturbed or suicidal, sources said.

Saturday’s attack was just the latest in a rash of transit crimes in the city in recent weeks, including the unprovoked attack on an MTA subway cleaner in Lower Manhattan and on a 10-year-old girl and her mother aboard a Bronx train.