A SEAT on a Subway train in Glasgow harbours 125 times more bacteria than a toilet seat, it was revealed yesterday.
The city s underground trains are so filthy commuters are being warned not to eat a sweet or give a baby back a dummy if they have fallen on to the seats.
The upholstered subway seats are the dirtiest part of Glasgow s trains, carrying twice the bacteria of the poles and more than six times that of the handrails.
Despite having just 13.4 million passengers a year compared with London s 1.1 billion, Glasgow s Subway is almost as germ-filled as London s.
The survey, by Dettol, is being used to encourage travellers to look after themselves.
Dr Dawn Harper, a medical expert from Channel 4 s Embarrassing Bodies, said: No-one is suggesting that Glaswegians try not to touch anthing when they are using the Subway, that s just not practical. But it is a good idea to be savvy when out and about.
You, or your children, are bound to touch the seats when you are travelling so just consider washing your hands afterwards, or not lettings kids put things in their mouths that have touched the seats.
The seats on Glasgow Subway carriages host 1000 bacteria per square centimetre, whereas the average public toilet has just eight bacteria per square centimetre.
The poles commuters hold on to have 455 bacteria and handrails 150.
The research is part of Dettol s Mission for Health campaign. Scientists swabbed surfaces in Strathclyde Passenger Transport trains and then grew the bacteria to see how many were present.
Glasgow Subway system has more bacteria than the light rail in Birmingham and the tram system in Manchester but fewer than the London Underground, buses in Cardiff or the Metro in Newcastle.
A survey reveals 72% of people living in Glasgow see it as a healthy city.
Copyright 2008 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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