Bacteria, Mold Fill BART Seats

If you are fighting for a seat on San Francisco's BART trains, maybe you should think again—the seats are full of nasty bacteria, including a drug-resistant strain of staphylococcus aureus superbug, and several types of mold, says a new report commissioned by The Bay Citizen. “I would love to sit down, but it just grosses me out," says one 26-year-old passenger. "They’re disgusting."

The BART trains have cloth seats, which are more difficult to clean and allow bacteria to grow in the fibers. But experts pooh-poohed the fecal bacteria dangers. “I suspect it’s not a very big problem,” says one doctor. “That said, if there’s another way to do it, where you can clean it better, then you should do it.” A BART spokesperson said the results were “not surprising,” and that riders should use the hand sanitizers available at the stations. (More BART stories.)