ECJ EUROPEAN Cleaning Journal

A new report has analysed contamination of the most popular modes of public transport in London and other European capitals. Key findings include:

• The London Black Cab is the most contaminated mode of public transport, with nearly double the pathogens found in the Underground

• The London Underground had a high concentration of bacteria associated with faecal contamination

• A bench in Paris central station had higher levels of bacteria than any mode of transport in London.

Dry cleaning specialist ZipJet conducted the research to better understand the bacteria commuters are exposed to on their daily transport routes. Results that commuters sometimes share seats with bacteria originating from soil, stagnant water, saliva and even faeces.

Samples were taken from locations where passengers' clothes and hands frequently come into contact with shared spaces during their daily travels. For example, from a bench in London Victoria station, five seats and hand rails on the London underground, five chairs of red double decker buses, the backseat of five Black Cabs, and the backseat of five Uber cars.

The same process was repeated at commuter locations in Paris and Berlin. The swabs were sent to Limbach Analytics, a laboratory in Mannheim, where the samples were processed by introducing microbiological methods designed to identify different microorganisms.

"You can easily stay clean and healthy when using public transport," said Constanze Wendt, specialist in hygiene and microbiology at Limbach Analytics. "After travelling, you can avoid contamination simply by washing your hands and washing clothes thoroughly to avoid a buildup of bacteria."

In terms of trends from Paris, Berlin and London:

•Taxis in London, Paris and Berlin were all found to be highly contaminated with bacteria
•Buses in each city were found to be a reliably clean way to travel
•The Berlin Bus was the cleanest way to travel overall, followed by the London Uber and the Berlin U-Bahn
•The Paris Station Bench was the most contaminated swabbed location, followed by the London Black Cab, and the Berlin Taxi.

Click here for all the other ZipJet findings