How dirty is the CTA?

By Kyra Kyles (RedEye) If you're standing on the "L," you hang onto the pole.
On the bus, you pull the string to signal your stop. Sure, you might be leery of possible germs on CTA surfaces. It might even have occurred to you that you're at some risk of catching a cold, a virus or worse.

But how much of a risk? RedEye hired a local laboratory to randomly test some CTA surfaces for cleanliness and harmful bacteria. Though the tests conducted along the Red Line, Brown Line, No. 66 and No. 151 routes revealed no staph or E. coli bacteria cells, approximately 57 percent of the tested surfaces registered as dirty enough to breed bacteria that can make you sick, according to a report by environmental scientist Slade Smith.

Surfaces tested on Red and Brown Line trains averaged "dirty" readings, though Red Line cars were found to be significantly dirtier than those on the Brown. Among the dirtiest surfaces tested were the upholstered seats on trains and the stop cord on one bus.

The bottom line: Despite the CTA's efforts to keep buses and trains clean, tests show that the potential for bacteria buildup on the "L" and buses is nothing to sneeze at.

"Would I let my kids touch these surfaces and put their fingers in their mouths? No," Smith said. "Even if you clean and sanitize constantly, there's only so much cleaning that you can do with this many riders in a dense social space."

Riders who don't wash their hands between riding the CTA and eating are potentially at risk for colds, the flu, cold sores and food-related illnesses, such as salmonella poisoning, Smith said.

Red Line results
"I don't mean to be nosy, but what are you doing?" rider Chiquita Weatherspoon asked Smith as he swabbed a pole on a northbound Red Line train.

Weatherspoon, who lives in Englewood, said she lost her appetite for the Big Mac she was eating aboard the train, especially after Smith looked at a reading and murmured, "Dirty."

It got worse.

The plastic top of a seat between cushions registered an ATP (Adenosine triphosphate) reading of 552, or as Smith explained, "extremely dirty." Anything above 500 should be scrubbed and disinfected, as such surfaces encourage bacteria growth.

The seat cushion in that same car registered 341, or "very dirty," and is comparable to an office keyboard that has been touched by a number of hands, deeply contaminated with food particles and rarely cleaned.

In both cases, the dirty surfaces increase the risk of infection and illness, Smith said.

"I knew I shouldn't be eating after I touched this train," Weatherspoon told RedEye as she wiped her mouth and hands vigorously with a napkin. "I usually have hand wipes in my purse, and I forgot them today."

But Weatherspoon was contributing to the problem, Smith said.

"There's only so much the CTA can do to keep these cars clean," Smith said, pointing out that the Big Mac crumbs could be food for any potential bacteria on the seats. "As you can see from the eating and drinking going on, this biofilm buildup can lead to bacterial contamination."

That buildup is not necessarily addressed by the spot cleaning the CTA said it does each time a train reaches the end of the line. Spot cleaning means clearing out trash, checking for and removing spills, or dealing with "biohazard" issues, such as bodily fluids, CTA spokeswoman Robyn Ziegler said. Rail cars also are mopped and checked for graffiti at least once a day, she said.

More intense cleaning of the system's 1,190 rail car interiors takes place on a rotating basis, approximately every 14 days for each rail car, Ziegler said.

"The intense cleaning takes place on top of nightly cleanings and involves interior washing and sanitizing of floors, windows, hand rails, ceilings, seats, chrome and doors," Ziegler said.

Brown Line results
Brown Line riders that spoke to RedEye were less worried about CTA sanitation.

"It's not like I'm licking my hands after I ride the train or anything," 19-year-old Kristin Smith said.

Although most "L" surfaces on both lines registered as "dirty," with ATP levels above 50, the Brown Line, on average, was cleaner than the Red.

Brown Line surfaces had average ATP levels of 69. Red Line surfaces averaged 181.

Higher ridership on the Red could be to blame, Slade Smith said. "There may be a need to clean more frequently."

Ziegler said train cars for both Red and Brown Lines are cleaned with similar frequency, though the Red Line runs 24 hours and has the higher ridership. Ziegler said Red Line trains have more cars and spot cleaners on hand so, despite what the tests showed, sanitation efforts even out.

Bus results
The No. 66 was "clean," while the No. 151 bus registered as "very dirty," according to Smith's report.

None of the No. 66 bus' surface samples registered higher than 50, the baseline for cleanliness. But the No. 151 averaged 326, or "very dirty."

A seat's backrest on the No. 151 was the highest of all surfaces tested at 1,599, or "extremely dirty." Smith said he has found much higher levels before, such as a 9,000 reading for a cement floor soaked during a sewer backup. But Smith said anything higher than 500 can pose health risks.

The CTA said its approximately 2,056 buses are spot cleaned at the end of each complete route. During spot cleanings, operators walk through and remove debris, food or litter left behind by riders, leading up to a more thorough cleaning in the garages once a day.

But Smith said those efforts would have little impact on that filthy seat backrest. Only deep cleaning and disinfecting would address that level of biofilm buildup, which could be saliva, skin flakes or food particles.

The buses are intensely cleaned and sanitized on a rotating basis. About every 15 days, the CTA uses powerful detergents and hospital-grade disinfectants to stamp out bacteria including staph and viruses such as hepatitis on each bus. Each bus takes about four hours to clean, Ziegler said.

On the positive side, seats on both buses showed lower ATP levels than the seats on the "L" cars. Upholstered seats on the No. 66 registered at 21, which is considered "clean." The No. 151 vinyl seats came back at 0, or "completely clean."

"The vinyl coverings are more practical to clean and sanitize," Smith said. "The CTA may have tried to solve a problem with graffiti by using the upholstered seats, but they gave themselves a new problem."

Another area Smith highlighted was the stop cords. On the No. 66, they were "clean" at 39. On the No. 151, they registered at close to "very dirty" at 483.

"That is high," Smith said about the No. 151 cord. "It's not surprising though because of the hand contact if this is a popular route."

"I try so hard to keep my hands to myself, but you just can't help grabbing onto the poles or the seats sometimes," Wicker Park rider Darlene Moore said as she watched Smith swab a handrail on the No. 66.

"It's a must that I wash my hands after riding on this bus," Moore said.

Coming clean
The CTA said the agency works hard to keep riders from getting sick, but that riders should consider their own role in keeping buses, trains and stations clean.

"Most customers who encounter unpleasant smells, garbage or worse know that they were caused by a few people who lack respect for fellow passengers," Ziegler said, advising riders to report any such abuses to 1-888-YOUR-CTA.

Ziegler said the CTA encourages customers to keep things clean by prohibiting eating and drinking on trains or buses. Also, new buses that arrived earlier this year are equipped with trash bins for rider rubbish.

The CTA also is launching an initiative to audit its cleanliness.

"We will begin unannounced inspections of trains and platforms before a.m. service and also perform monthly monitoring of interior rail car cleaning," Ziegler said. But the CTA will not be testing for germs. Instead, auditors will monitor visual appearance of trains, buses and stations and cleaning methods.

Smith's advice: "Use common sense, wash your hands, and be careful because it is possible you could get sick."