Rental e-bike handlebars in London may be significantly dirtier than toilet seats, according to bacterial testing conducted by the Daily Mail. Daily commutes on these popular modes of transport could expose users to an unsanitary level of germs.
Germ Levels on Rental Bikes
The study utilized bacterial sampling swabs to assess the cleanliness of handlebars on several popular rental bike brands, including Forest, Lime, Voi, and the Santander (Boris) Bike. The results indicated that the average rental bike handle could harbor over 100 times more germs than a toilet seat. The most contaminated bike tested was found to be 418 times dirtier than an office toilet seat.
Researchers employed surface-swab enumeration testing, a method to gauge the overall bacterial presence on a surface. Samples were collected using sterile swabs, sent to a professional lab, incubated, and then counted to determine the aerobic colony count, with each visible colony representing a cluster of germs. For context, a swab of a toilet seat yielded an aerobic colony count of 430,000.
Among the tested bikes, the Voi bike showed the lowest count at 1,010 colonies. However, other bikes exhibited substantially higher levels. A Santander Bike registered 2,700,000 colonies, and a Lime bike showed 60,600,000 colonies. The Forest bike recorded the highest count at 180,000,000 colonies.
Identification of Bacteria
Beyond general bacterial counts, the testing also identified specific types of bacteria. The Forest bike sample revealed over 1.3 million colonies of Staphylococcus aureus, a bacterium known to cause staph infections and typically indicative of skin bacteria. More concerning were the considerably high numbers of Faecal streptococci and E. coli detected. These bacteria are indicators of recent fecal matter contamination and can cause infections or food poisoning.
Dawn Mellors, technical director at Melbec Microbiology, the contracted lab, noted that E. coli and Faecal streptococci suggest recent contamination, which could originate from humans or animals, such as bird droppings. She clarified that these organisms do not survive long in the environment, thus pointing to recent contamination.
Previous Findings and Expert Recommendations
These findings align with a previous study on 50 e-bikes in London, which also found high levels of biological residue, including potential fecal matter. While the Daily Mail's study used a limited sample size of one bike per brand, its results suggest that rental bike handlebars can be a source of pathogens.
Mellors recommended that bike handles should be efficiently disinfected before use, or that users should wash their hands after using the bikes to mitigate hygiene risks. Lime stated that its bikes are washed regularly but advised users to wash their hands post-use. Transport for London (TfL), which oversees Santander Cycles, noted that their sample did not show the presence of the specific concerning bacteria identified in the other tests and encouraged good hand hygiene for all users of frequently touched public surfaces. A Voi spokesperson also commented that while all public surfaces carry bacteria, their company takes vehicle hygiene seriously.