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Do you sit in facing seats knowing that they've had feet on them?

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Master29

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Having to put up with class 800 seats per se, human feet on a seat is something of a small inconvenience I would say so not really bothered tbh.
 
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stj

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Conductors should tell people not to put bags on seats when passengers are standing.
 

underbank

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Not remotely bothered. Wherever you sit in public will be filthy. I never wear outdoor clothes in the house. First thing I do when I come home is change, before I sit on my own sofa/bed etc.

On trains, I always prefer sitting in facing seats whether there's a table or not, simply because I get very claustrophobic in airline style seats where your face is just a foot or so from the seat back in front of you.
 

underbank

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Conductors should tell people not to put bags on seats when passengers are standing.

Waste of time, people will just ignore them.. If guards can't properly enforce unwilling fare dodgers nor reservations, they're not going to be effective with bags on seats.
 

Wombat

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I suspect that most of us think nothing of sitting down in a field or a park, which has quite likely been the recent recipient of feet and canine deposits - not to mention various clandestine activities after dark. I don't think that seats on public transport are uniquely filthy.
 

Typhoon

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It’s not restricted to trains either. Endemic on Edinburgh buses.
Reason why I sit on the middle seat if I have to sit on the back row.
The one time my legs were killing me, I actually put newspaper on the seat opposite, ensuring it would cover it fully and then put my feet on it so it doesn't touch the moquette.
I thought that was what The Metro was for?
 

JB_B

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I think the OP's question could be reformulated (to sound a little less peculiar) as ....

"Given facing seats have a higher probability of having had dirty shoes on them than non-facing seats (e.g. airline) , do you only use (or prefer using) non-facing seats?"

My answer would be "no, of course not - why worry about it?" ( naturally I'd avoid an obviously soiled seat).

If I did avoid them and the train was busy, I'd probably not get a seat at all.

If the train isn't busy, it's much nicer to have empty space opposite rather than a seat back straight ahead.

@ the OP - what do you do?
 

ComUtoR

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https://www.thesun.co.uk/living/1755039/train-seats-are-over-six-times-filthier-than-toilets/
This latest research follows a previous study that found the surface of Tube seats were contaminated with four types of hair sample (human, mouse, rat, dog), seven types of insect (mostly fleas, mostly alive), vomit originating from at least nine separate people, human urine originating from at least four separate people, human excrement, rodent excrement and human semen.

The report also swapped the surfaces in ten busy stations.

It was found that hand rails at Bank, Monument, Liverpool Street and Oxford Circus were the worst for germs, while the touch screen machines at Stratford were the grimiest.

Shoes and seats are the last thing to worry about.
 

alxndr

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Unless it's visibly soiled it won't even cross my mind. It's not going to kill me.
 

trainophile

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I suspect that most of us think nothing of sitting down in a field or a park, which has quite likely been the recent recipient of feet and canine deposits - not to mention various clandestine activities after dark. I don't think that seats on public transport are uniquely filthy.

Fields and parks get rained on frequently. I don't know what the upholstery cleaning regime on trains is, but I bet it isn't very often.
 
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It depends on the train and the area. Feet on seats is a particular epidemic on long trains in the SE, but on long distance trains like Virgin or LNER it is less of an issue.
So a long distance train from Bournemouth to London is it OK to sit on a facing seat, just sometimes? Is it OK from Waterloo to Bournemouth?
 

Polarbear

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Feet on seats, I don’t like. Over in Europe, it happens, but people generally take their shoes off first, or put paper on the seat in front. If people just used a little common sense, it might not be too bad. However, when it’s raining or you can see a pair of muddy/dirty shoes on the seat, that’s annoying.
 

trainophile

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Another irritation is people who plonk the wheels of their trolley case on the seat next to them, which have been dragged through goodness knows what.
 

Antman

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Conductors should tell people not to put bags on seats when passengers are standing.
They often do ask over the PA if the train is busy although most people move bags, coats etc without being asked.
 

The Ham

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I thought about it once for about 5 minutes and came to this conclusion:
- I don't know what is on the bottom of people's shoes
- however I also don't know what people have touched since they last washed their hands (which given that I would be pushing the door release button which other people will have been using and so could pass this to my hands)
- I very rarely have contact with the seat of my trousers, unlike my hands
- therefore I have no problem with sitting on seats on trains
 

amateur

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What a bizarre thread, the thought has never even crossed my mind
Not a bizarre thread at all. As a Muslim, this crosses my mind all the time. I never sit on the double facing seats (or triple facing), as I know know people have put their shoes on them. If a seat were vacant, I'd rather stand, than sit on those seats.

I only ever sit on the "normal" seats, even if that means I have less leg room.
 

johnnychips

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No, it is a bizarre thread. Unless the seat is wet and/or visibly soiled and should be avoided, the only contact you will have is your trousers or skirt. Maybe you - and I don't mean the poster above, but anyone - are in the habit of feeling your buttocks, then putting your hand in your mouth. I don't very often. However, we do have an immune system to deal with this.
 

Temple Meads

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Feet being placed on seats doesn't affect my decision on where to sit at all, but I still think it's a a filthy thing to do, it seems some people are just far too special to travel on public transport with their feet on the ground.
 

YorksDMU

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I usually sit in airline seats since they are nearest the doors on Northern’s 158’s. I just like to sit next to a door for a more easier detraining if the unit is rammed. So, unless the seat, as stated before, is visually dirty I’ll sit on it.
When I do sit in a group of four seats, it’s that visually dirty rule again, so I will sit there.
But I always change my trousers and jacket, etc., on getting home, as well as washing my hands thoroughly.
 

bramling

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On long trains in SE England it is extremely common for passengers to put feet on the opposite seat where seats face each other. So do you sit in those seats knowing that people may well have had their feet on them?

In my view some on here get a bit overwrought about this.

Yes it’s a bad habit that shouldn’t happen, however reality is some rail users are disgusting, either in terms of habits or personal hygiene, and anyone using a train seat should be doing so in the full knowledge that they will likely be sitting on a seat which over time *will* have been subjected to a whole range of nasties. The cleaning when these nasties are found is pretty rudimentary.

Unfortunately, if not happy with this then private car is the answer.

To be fair, driving cabs are not necessarily better. At a location known to me someone managed to crap themselves in the cab, somehow managing to get it all up the panels. The dirty **** just left it for the next driver to find.
 
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The Ham

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Just to mess with everyone's heads who don't want to sit on seats which sites have been on, I've seen small children standing on seats so that they can look out of windows.

Would this result in a sudden rush for those airline seats on the 80x's which don't have a window and are airline seats?
 

Ethano92

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I don't think anyone should get on a train thinking it's sterile. Wasn't there a report/Freedom of info request showing that only 3 tube lines out of 11 ever have their seats cleaned and out of those it's only annually. I suspect most TOCs will be simar.

I often see people complaining to SWR twitter about some dried gum on the seats (the black stuff that's in no way sticky or going to ruin your clothes, I think it's gum at least) and talk about how disgusting it is but can we just... Get over that, use another seat, there are seats that have clearly had their seat covers replaced recently but people would rather stand and complain than solve their own problem.

Seats are dirty, we don't tend to have leather and plastic seats like some other places, you shouldn't let feet on seats bother you. I know it's gross but I don't ever actually care when people do it, I do it myself but only if there's an old newspaper already on the seat so I can put my feet on that which is common after rush hour but I don't think that seats in all the public places we may sit except trains are any cleaner.
 
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