Nearly half of people avoid public transport because of fears over poor hygiene

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Nearly half of commuters avoid using public transport completely because of fears over poor hygiene and cleanliness.

And 46 per cent confessed to taking a longer or more costly commute in favour of it being a less crowded and more hygienic route.

The poll of 1,110 adults who use public transport for work also found 51 per cent have chosen a more expensive commute in order to avoid germs.

And the same number have a ‘preferred regular spot’ they use on public transport each day, for hygiene reasons.

Nearly eight in 10 (79 per cent) will also deliberately avoid holding on to handrails when on a bus, train or tube.

The research also found 55 per cent avoid holding on to escalator handrails to lower their chances of picking up germs.

However, more than one in five (22 per cent) would not avoid a busy commute if they had a cough or cold, with 21 per cent of these saying they do not avoid touching grab rails on trains or tubes.

This could explain why 14 per cent of all those polled claim to wear disposable gloves during their commutes.