BART is getting new, less gross seats

Somehow, wool seats on BART seemed like a good idea in the 1970s. And actually, for decades, the cloth, carpet and stainless steel of BART seemed at least near the luxurious end of public transportation. Not that edging MUNI or AC Transit in luxury took much effort.

40 years later, though, after countless rear ends have graced — and disgraced — the increasingly drab cloth benches, The Bay Citizen reports BART is putting $1.3 million of its recently-announced $20 milion surplus toward new, padded vinyl seats. And they’ll be here quickly, on one in six BART trains in the next six to nine months.

The new blue-and-gray seats are similar to those used in Washington’s metro system. … BART’s signature cushions will remain, but they will now be shielded by a nonporous vinyl cover that can be easily wiped down and disinfected every night.

“Can” be disinfected doesn’t mean “will” be disinfected. But at least now true germaphobes can wipe before they sit.