Permanently disinfect the bars in transport. Specific treatment of the metal instantly kills microbes. And for the paranos, there are removable personal handles to avoid touching these nests with microbes. What to prepare for a mass return in transport.
We were talking about it yesterday: for the revival of public transport, we are thinking of making masks mandatory. But there are also all the bars which are real nests for microbes. We may have a solution: use a metal that constantly self-disinfects.
Copper alloy grab bars. You may know that copper is naturally anti-bacterial. Except that the process is quite slow. It can last for hours. Scientists at Purdue University in the United States have found a technique to speed things up. They discovered that by etching a micro-pattern on the surface of the metal, you could destroy most microbes almost instantly. This obviously interests metro, bus and RER operators. It is true that having self-disinfecting bars will still be more reassuring. No need to pull the sleeve of your sweater or use a handkerchief when you grip.
Yes, but that means that you have to change all the bars of all public transport…
Yes, it can take time and be very expensive. We should rather see them arriving gradually on the new trains. In the meantime, we are updating the individual hygienic handles. You keep it in your bag or in your pocket. And when we have to stand, we roll it up on the disgusting bar. Like that, we don't touch anything anymore. Several French startups offer them: Metrogenik or Bugless, which won the Lépine competition last year. So far, we laughed. We thought it was more for hypochondriacs. But with the pandemic, it is clear that many of us have nevertheless become paranos.