Window button, seatbelt of shared taxi dirtier than toilet seat: Survey

Do you know that travelling in a shared taxi can really cause you health problem? Yes. Shared taxis are 35000 times dirtier than a toilet sheet, reveals a Zee Business report, citing a survey by an insurance firm NetQuote. The report also said that window button, seat belt, and door handle of a shared taxi harbour 219 times more germs than a normal taxi, therefore, you need to take care while travelling in such mode of transport. 

You would have travelled in a rideshare vehicle, taxi, or rental car at some point, without noticing that you are not only person who rolled down windows, buckled seatbelts, and grasped door handles, rather many others would have done the same prior to you. 

Since the survey has concluded that a shared taxi is 35000 times dirtier than a toilet sheet, your health is really at stake. You are likely to contact germs that may cause skin infection, stomach infection or even blood infection, therefore while entering the taxi, you should rub door handle and window button, said the report.

The best way to safeguard yourself is to use soap or sanitise your hands, as soon as you reach home, the report added. 

एक टॉयलेट सीट से 35,000 गुना ज्यादा गंदा होता है शेयर्ड टैक्सी की विंडो का बटन और सीट बेल्ट, कैसे बचें इनसे बता रही हैं पल्लवी नागपाल जैरथ।@pallavi_nagpal pic.twitter.com/tii7BG3S70

— Zee Business (@ZeeBusiness) May 16, 2019

Notably, the NetQuote mobilized a team to hail taxis, request rideshare vehicles, and secure rental cars, and then swabbed various surfaces in the cars to gather samples. It stated that "Not all germs are harmful – but their mere existence on surfaces indicates the potential for problems. The higher the bacteria level, the more likely that some of the microorganisms are harmful." 

The samples revealed the presence of various germ types – some of which are potentially harmful: bacillus (a type that can cause infections and food poisoning); gram-positive rods, including cocci (which is linked to skin infections, pneumonia, and blood poisoning); gram-negative rods (which tend to be harmful to humans); and yeast (which under the right conditions has the potential cause skin infections, especially in people with compromised immune systems), the survey added.