A cleaner journey: better seats for Dublin Bus, Luas, DART and Ireland’s trains
The Issue
A cleaner journey: better seats for Dublin Bus, Luas, DART and Ireland’s trains
To: The National Transport Authority, Dublin Bus, Transport Infrastructure Ireland, KeolisAmey Luas and Iarnród Éireann
If we want more people to choose public transport, we must make it a service they feel comfortable choosing.
Reducing transport CO₂ emissions urgently requires attractive alternatives to driving. European Environment Agency analysis identifies rail as a particularly low-emission form of motorised passenger transport, with buses and coaches also generally performing well compared with cars. Actual emissions depend on occupancy, vehicle technology and energy sources (EEA, 2021).
Reliable services, affordable fares, accessibility and cleanliness should work together to support that transition.
We ask people to leave their cars at home. We should also give them confidence in the seat they are being asked to sit on.
We call for a phased move away from absorbent fabric upholstery towards comfortable, durable, easy-to-clean seating on Dublin Bus, Luas trams, DART, Commuter and InterCity trains.
CLEANLINESS SHOULD BE DESIGNED INTO THE JOURNEY
Public transport seats are shared by many people throughout the day. Spills and accidental soiling are predictable, and the materials we choose should make them straightforward to deal with.
Vomit, urine, sweat and spilled drinks can leave moisture, residues, stains and unpleasant smells. Where liquid penetrates fabric and underlying padding, cleaning must address contamination within the material. Depending on the construction and severity of soiling, this may require extraction, specialist treatment, drying or replacement.
A seat that has dried is not necessarily a seat from which contamination has been removed.
Passengers deserve clean, dry seating regardless of whether a particular incident presents a significant infection risk. They should not have to choose between standing throughout their journey and sitting on a seat they distrust.
Cleanliness is a documented passenger concern. Washington’s Metro reported requests for seating that did not absorb spills, stains and odours. San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit identified cleanliness as a passenger priority and reported positive feedback after introducing wipe-clean seat coverings (WMATA, 2024; BART, n.d.).
Irish operators should treat seating cleanliness as part of improving the passenger experience, and measure whether better materials and cleaning increase confidence and willingness to travel.
BETTER MATERIALS, PROPER CLEANING
We support trials of ergonomically shaped moulded plastic, suitable solid or perforated metal seating, and other durable surfaces designed for frequent cleaning.
Where cushioning is needed, particularly on longer journeys, seats should combine support with durable, fluid-resistant, wipe-clean coverings.
The complete design matters. Joints, edges, perforations, fixings and undersides must remain accessible for cleaning. Any perforated design should be assessed for how effectively its openings and underlying surfaces can be cleaned.
Comfort, grip, accessibility, fire safety and durability must be demonstrated through appropriate testing. Passenger trials should include older people, disabled passengers, people with pain or reduced mobility, and those making longer journeys.
The goal is a seat that supports the passenger and allows staff to remove contamination effectively.
A PROPORTIONATE PUBLIC-HEALTH CASE
Research provides reasons to examine cleanability carefully. A small Portland study found substantially higher bacterial counts on cloth bus seats than on vinyl train seats and suggested that cloth padding could retain bacteria beneath its surface. Because different vehicles were compared, it cannot establish that material alone caused the difference (Yeh et al., 2011).
Laboratory research also recovered viable bacteria from cotton and polyester textiles at the end of a 28-day experiment. This demonstrates persistence under experimental conditions, rather than contamination levels on Irish transport (Jekiel and Syguła-Cholewińska, 2025).
CDC guidance on healthcare textiles identifies blood, urine, vomit and faeces as potential sources of microbial contamination (CDC, 2024b). Relevant surface-associated infection pathways include norovirus gastroenteritis and shigellosis, when infectious material reaches the mouth, and MRSA skin or wound infections, when bacteria reach broken skin (CDC, 2024a; 2024c; 2025).
These are reasons for effective cleaning and prompt action after soiling. They are not evidence that Irish transport seats are causing these illnesses. The Portland study did not detect Staphylococcus aureus.
Changing materials must therefore be accompanied by reliable cleaning, appropriate disinfection when required, and clear procedures for taking contaminated seats out of use.
Passengers deserve straightforward answers: when was the seat cleaned, how are spills treated, and how is cleaning checked?
PRACTICAL EXAMPLES TO LEARN FROM
Dallas Area Rapid Transit reported replacing nearly 34,000 fabric seat cushions and backs across its bus fleet with vinyl-covered alternatives in 2023. Its engineering team reported that the surfaces were easier to clean and sanitise (DART, 2023). This is the Dallas agency, distinct from Ireland’s DART.
Washington’s Metro reported positive passenger feedback on comfort and appearance following a vinyl-seat pilot. Staff also reported greater durability and straightforward installation. Nearly 40 buses had been converted by June 2024 as a wider rollout began (WMATA, 2024).
San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit introduced wipe-clean seat coverings and retained this approach for its new trains following positive passenger feedback, combining cleanable surfaces with supportive cushioning (BART, n.d.).
These examples show practical adoption and reported benefits. Ireland can learn from them while testing what works best for its own passengers and vehicles.
PREPARING FOR THE FUTURE
Cleaning technology is developing too. In 2025, Downer reported successful trials of robots developed with Deakin University to clean train floors, seats and windows, including steam-based surface cleaning (Downer, 2025).
New seating and carriage layouts should be assessed for compatibility with both effective manual cleaning and emerging equipment. Accessible surfaces and practical drying arrangements should be considered at the design stage.
Robotic and assisted cleaning should be tested for effectiveness, safety, material compatibility and cost, supporting properly resourced cleaning teams.
OUR REQUEST
We ask the responsible authorities and operators to:
Trial comfortable, easy-to-clean alternatives to absorbent upholstery across buses, trams and trains.
Publish cleaning schedules and procedures for reporting, isolating and treating wet or soiled seats.
Compare materials and cleaning methods under realistic conditions, including repeated spills, wear, drying requirements and contamination remaining after cleaning.
Protect comfort, accessibility and safety, with suitable cushioning and support for longer journeys.
Evaluate robotic and assisted cleaning technologies alongside improvements to staff equipment, training and working time.
Publish results on cleaning effectiveness, passenger feedback, environmental impact and lifetime cost.
Introduce successful alternatives through planned vehicle purchases and refurbishment, with a clear timetable.
A cleaner public transport system begins with practical design choices and the resources to maintain them.
Comfortable seats that are easier to clean can contribute to a more welcoming service. Combined with reliability, affordability and accessibility, that is the future we should be building.
Please sign to support cleaner seats, greater passenger confidence and more appealing public transport.
REFERENCES
Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) (n.d.) ‘New features’.
Available at: https://www.bart.gov/about/projects/cars/new-features
(Accessed: 2 October 2026).
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2024a) ‘About Shigella infection’.
Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/shigella/about/index.html
(Accessed: 2 October 2026).
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2024b) ‘G. Laundry and bedding’, Guidelines for Environmental Infection Control in Health-Care Facilities (2003).
Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/infection-control/hcp/environmental-control/laundry-bedding.html
(Accessed: 2 October 2026).
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2024c) ‘How norovirus spreads’.
Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/norovirus/causes/index.html
(Accessed: 2 October 2026).
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2025) ‘Preventing methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)’.
Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/mrsa/prevention/index.html
(Accessed: 2 October 2026).
Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) (2023) ‘DART buses feature new vinyl seats’, 7 September.
Available at: https://dartdaily.dart.org/posts/knowledge-post/dart-to-replace-fabric-seats-with-vinyl-for-better-cleanliness
(Accessed: 2 October 2026).
Downer (2025) ‘Downer develops the world’s first fully autonomous rollingstock cleaning robots’, 26 February.
Available at: https://downergroup.com/news/downer-develops-the-worlds-first-fully-autonomous-rollingstock-cleaning-robots/
(Accessed: 2 October 2026).
European Environment Agency (EEA) (2021) ‘Rail and waterborne — best for low-carbon motorised transport’.
Available at: https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/analysis/publications/rail-and-waterborne-best-for-low-carbon-motorised-transport
(Accessed: 2 October 2026).
Jekiel, K. and Syguła-Cholewińska, J. (2025) ‘Assessment of different detection methods in bacteria survival on cotton and polyester textiles’, Journal of Natural Fibers, 22(1), article 2437533.
https://doi.org/10.1080/15440478.2024.2437533
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) (2024) ‘Metro installing easier-to-clean vinyl seats on all buses’, 25 June.
Available at: https://www.wmata.com/news/metro-to-convert-all-bus-seats-to-easier-to-clean-vinyl.html
(Accessed: 2 October 2026).
Yeh, P.J., Simon, D.M., Millar, J.A., Alexander, H.F. and Franklin, D. (2011) ‘A diversity of antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus spp. in a public transportation system’, Osong Public Health and Research Perspectives, 2(3), pp. 202–209.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.phrp.2011.11.047
2
The Issue
A cleaner journey: better seats for Dublin Bus, Luas, DART and Ireland’s trains
To: The National Transport Authority, Dublin Bus, Transport Infrastructure Ireland, KeolisAmey Luas and Iarnród Éireann
If we want more people to choose public transport, we must make it a service they feel comfortable choosing.
Reducing transport CO₂ emissions urgently requires attractive alternatives to driving. European Environment Agency analysis identifies rail as a particularly low-emission form of motorised passenger transport, with buses and coaches also generally performing well compared with cars. Actual emissions depend on occupancy, vehicle technology and energy sources (EEA, 2021).
Reliable services, affordable fares, accessibility and cleanliness should work together to support that transition.
We ask people to leave their cars at home. We should also give them confidence in the seat they are being asked to sit on.
We call for a phased move away from absorbent fabric upholstery towards comfortable, durable, easy-to-clean seating on Dublin Bus, Luas trams, DART, Commuter and InterCity trains.
CLEANLINESS SHOULD BE DESIGNED INTO THE JOURNEY
Public transport seats are shared by many people throughout the day. Spills and accidental soiling are predictable, and the materials we choose should make them straightforward to deal with.
Vomit, urine, sweat and spilled drinks can leave moisture, residues, stains and unpleasant smells. Where liquid penetrates fabric and underlying padding, cleaning must address contamination within the material. Depending on the construction and severity of soiling, this may require extraction, specialist treatment, drying or replacement.
A seat that has dried is not necessarily a seat from which contamination has been removed.
Passengers deserve clean, dry seating regardless of whether a particular incident presents a significant infection risk. They should not have to choose between standing throughout their journey and sitting on a seat they distrust.
Cleanliness is a documented passenger concern. Washington’s Metro reported requests for seating that did not absorb spills, stains and odours. San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit identified cleanliness as a passenger priority and reported positive feedback after introducing wipe-clean seat coverings (WMATA, 2024; BART, n.d.).
Irish operators should treat seating cleanliness as part of improving the passenger experience, and measure whether better materials and cleaning increase confidence and willingness to travel.
BETTER MATERIALS, PROPER CLEANING
We support trials of ergonomically shaped moulded plastic, suitable solid or perforated metal seating, and other durable surfaces designed for frequent cleaning.
Where cushioning is needed, particularly on longer journeys, seats should combine support with durable, fluid-resistant, wipe-clean coverings.
The complete design matters. Joints, edges, perforations, fixings and undersides must remain accessible for cleaning. Any perforated design should be assessed for how effectively its openings and underlying surfaces can be cleaned.
Comfort, grip, accessibility, fire safety and durability must be demonstrated through appropriate testing. Passenger trials should include older people, disabled passengers, people with pain or reduced mobility, and those making longer journeys.
The goal is a seat that supports the passenger and allows staff to remove contamination effectively.
A PROPORTIONATE PUBLIC-HEALTH CASE
Research provides reasons to examine cleanability carefully. A small Portland study found substantially higher bacterial counts on cloth bus seats than on vinyl train seats and suggested that cloth padding could retain bacteria beneath its surface. Because different vehicles were compared, it cannot establish that material alone caused the difference (Yeh et al., 2011).
Laboratory research also recovered viable bacteria from cotton and polyester textiles at the end of a 28-day experiment. This demonstrates persistence under experimental conditions, rather than contamination levels on Irish transport (Jekiel and Syguła-Cholewińska, 2025).
CDC guidance on healthcare textiles identifies blood, urine, vomit and faeces as potential sources of microbial contamination (CDC, 2024b). Relevant surface-associated infection pathways include norovirus gastroenteritis and shigellosis, when infectious material reaches the mouth, and MRSA skin or wound infections, when bacteria reach broken skin (CDC, 2024a; 2024c; 2025).
These are reasons for effective cleaning and prompt action after soiling. They are not evidence that Irish transport seats are causing these illnesses. The Portland study did not detect Staphylococcus aureus.
Changing materials must therefore be accompanied by reliable cleaning, appropriate disinfection when required, and clear procedures for taking contaminated seats out of use.
Passengers deserve straightforward answers: when was the seat cleaned, how are spills treated, and how is cleaning checked?
PRACTICAL EXAMPLES TO LEARN FROM
Dallas Area Rapid Transit reported replacing nearly 34,000 fabric seat cushions and backs across its bus fleet with vinyl-covered alternatives in 2023. Its engineering team reported that the surfaces were easier to clean and sanitise (DART, 2023). This is the Dallas agency, distinct from Ireland’s DART.
Washington’s Metro reported positive passenger feedback on comfort and appearance following a vinyl-seat pilot. Staff also reported greater durability and straightforward installation. Nearly 40 buses had been converted by June 2024 as a wider rollout began (WMATA, 2024).
San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit introduced wipe-clean seat coverings and retained this approach for its new trains following positive passenger feedback, combining cleanable surfaces with supportive cushioning (BART, n.d.).
These examples show practical adoption and reported benefits. Ireland can learn from them while testing what works best for its own passengers and vehicles.
PREPARING FOR THE FUTURE
Cleaning technology is developing too. In 2025, Downer reported successful trials of robots developed with Deakin University to clean train floors, seats and windows, including steam-based surface cleaning (Downer, 2025).
New seating and carriage layouts should be assessed for compatibility with both effective manual cleaning and emerging equipment. Accessible surfaces and practical drying arrangements should be considered at the design stage.
Robotic and assisted cleaning should be tested for effectiveness, safety, material compatibility and cost, supporting properly resourced cleaning teams.
OUR REQUEST
We ask the responsible authorities and operators to:
Trial comfortable, easy-to-clean alternatives to absorbent upholstery across buses, trams and trains.
Publish cleaning schedules and procedures for reporting, isolating and treating wet or soiled seats.
Compare materials and cleaning methods under realistic conditions, including repeated spills, wear, drying requirements and contamination remaining after cleaning.
Protect comfort, accessibility and safety, with suitable cushioning and support for longer journeys.
Evaluate robotic and assisted cleaning technologies alongside improvements to staff equipment, training and working time.
Publish results on cleaning effectiveness, passenger feedback, environmental impact and lifetime cost.
Introduce successful alternatives through planned vehicle purchases and refurbishment, with a clear timetable.
A cleaner public transport system begins with practical design choices and the resources to maintain them.
Comfortable seats that are easier to clean can contribute to a more welcoming service. Combined with reliability, affordability and accessibility, that is the future we should be building.
Please sign to support cleaner seats, greater passenger confidence and more appealing public transport.
REFERENCES
Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) (n.d.) ‘New features’.
Available at: https://www.bart.gov/about/projects/cars/new-features
(Accessed: 2 October 2026).
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2024a) ‘About Shigella infection’.
Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/shigella/about/index.html
(Accessed: 2 October 2026).
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2024b) ‘G. Laundry and bedding’, Guidelines for Environmental Infection Control in Health-Care Facilities (2003).
Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/infection-control/hcp/environmental-control/laundry-bedding.html
(Accessed: 2 October 2026).
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2024c) ‘How norovirus spreads’.
Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/norovirus/causes/index.html
(Accessed: 2 October 2026).
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2025) ‘Preventing methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)’.
Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/mrsa/prevention/index.html
(Accessed: 2 October 2026).
Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) (2023) ‘DART buses feature new vinyl seats’, 7 September.
Available at: https://dartdaily.dart.org/posts/knowledge-post/dart-to-replace-fabric-seats-with-vinyl-for-better-cleanliness
(Accessed: 2 October 2026).
Downer (2025) ‘Downer develops the world’s first fully autonomous rollingstock cleaning robots’, 26 February.
Available at: https://downergroup.com/news/downer-develops-the-worlds-first-fully-autonomous-rollingstock-cleaning-robots/
(Accessed: 2 October 2026).
European Environment Agency (EEA) (2021) ‘Rail and waterborne — best for low-carbon motorised transport’.
Available at: https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/analysis/publications/rail-and-waterborne-best-for-low-carbon-motorised-transport
(Accessed: 2 October 2026).
Jekiel, K. and Syguła-Cholewińska, J. (2025) ‘Assessment of different detection methods in bacteria survival on cotton and polyester textiles’, Journal of Natural Fibers, 22(1), article 2437533.
https://doi.org/10.1080/15440478.2024.2437533
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) (2024) ‘Metro installing easier-to-clean vinyl seats on all buses’, 25 June.
Available at: https://www.wmata.com/news/metro-to-convert-all-bus-seats-to-easier-to-clean-vinyl.html
(Accessed: 2 October 2026).
Yeh, P.J., Simon, D.M., Millar, J.A., Alexander, H.F. and Franklin, D. (2011) ‘A diversity of antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus spp. in a public transportation system’, Osong Public Health and Research Perspectives, 2(3), pp. 202–209.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.phrp.2011.11.047
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Petition created on 2 October 2026