When standing, do you generally hold onto the bars or the loop handles attached to the bars? What did you do this morning if you were on one?
E: Sounds like bars are the popular option here too, for many reasons. Hygiene was a big one I hadn’t initially considered. Thanks for answering, everyone!
All bars, all the time.
Personally I don’t see any benefits for the loops, and a couple major drawbacks IMHO:
- Loops are less stable and require more physical force exerted by the user in order to gain a minimal amount of stability by pulling the loop taught.
- Loops feel dirtier and far harder to clean. Of course given that it’s public transit it’s not going to be fully sanitized or anything, but I feel like users can more easily take steps to protect themselves using bars (wiping the bar quickly before grabbing it, or shielding themselves by holding it through a piece of clothing).
It’s unfortunate for people that can’t reach the top bar, but I’d rather grab that over the loops. For the same reason
Looking around, a lot of other people do the same
I kind of thought the same on the bus this morning…
I’d see the benefits mainly are for people which the bars are out of reach due to body height, or being stuck in the middle of the aisle far away from bars. Lowering them would causes people to bump into them getting up from their seat, and having too many vertical bars would give difficulty to accessibility to an extent. They have some sort of use.
Bars for me
Don’t ride that often anymore but the occasional packed ride, all bar baby. I think the loops might be there for those who cannot reach the bar.
I go for the bars because the loops offer less axes of stability
What did you do this morning if you were on one?
What made this morning particularly significant?
I just figure it would have been interesting to see if anyone was holding bars or handles that morning. The morning I posted, 12 people were holding the upper bar, while 3 held onto the loop on the bus I was on.
I left Toronto some months ago, maybe I have rose-tinted glasses but I find the TTC and other buses there were way smoother of a ride than in Vancouver (It was 4 to 1 holding bars on the bus I was on this morning). I’m seeing if it has any influence on the amount of people using bars/loops via informal poll. Let me know your thoughts.
