TTC: Other Items (catch all)

[Northern Light]

Lowest common denominator is a matter of opinion. I have no horse in the race of longitudinal vs. transverse seating, but I would much prefer plastic seating instead of cloth seating, even though the opinion here seems to sway very much in the opposite direction. Personally I think that cloth seating in cities with populations of over 200k is a hygienic nightmare, and would much rather accept the slight decrease in discomfort in exchange for the lack of absorbent seats. If you're going to have absorbent seats, your cleaning regimen needs military levels of oversight and strictness, otherwise it is just giving off the illusion of luxury and comfort while actually being foul.

There is no reason for fabric seats to have to be 'absorbent'. Lot of fabrics have liquid repellent and water-tight surfaces naturally.

Hence why 'breathable' clothing is considered a desirable marketing thing, because some is not naturally not so and/or has a tight enough weave to make it not so.

Stain guard is applied to most commercially purchasable furniture these days. This is not some sort of Star Trek tech, its available today. We can do far better than hard plastic and still maintain perfectly fine hygiene.

@AlvinofDiaspar noted the utility of vinyl in this regard. It is possible to get a fabric with similar characteristics/ vinyl that doesn't stick to bare skin.

 

[Northern Light]

On the above, pre-covid, Los Angeles Transit went to a new variation of vinyl seating:

From: https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-metro-cloth-seats-20180710-story.html

For alternate choices........why not go to the manufacturer?

Manufacturers of fabrics for subway seats | Muaret Textil

Get high quality technical fabrics for subway seating. We comply with country-specific regulations. More than 40 years of experience. Get in!

muaret-textil.com