Germ exposé: Which PUV in Metro Manila is the dirtiest?
MANILA, Philippines - Public transportation gets the city moving. Each day, millions of Filipinos take jeepneys, buses, trains, shuttles, tricycles, and taxis to school, work, and everywhere else. But while public transportation promises affordability and convenience, it also exposes people to a lot of germs.
As part of Procter and Gamble’s (P&G) Germ Academy, the company looked into the different types of public transportation in Metro Manila, which showed that some vehicles have contamination levels that are higher than that of a trash bin cover or a toilet bowl lid. This test specifically focused on handle bars, which most commuters touch, and vehicles traveling along EDSA.
To measure the contamination level, P&G used a luminometer, a device that measures adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the universal energy molecule found in all animal, plant, bacteria, yeast, and mold cells. When ATP is brought into contact with the luminometer, light is emitted in direct proportion to the level of contamination of the sample. Readings are measured in RLU (relative light units). A reading of 500 and below means that the item surface is clean; 501-999 means that caution is needed; while 1,000 and above means it is dirty. The higher the reading, the more contamination is present which means that microorganisms such as the influenza virus (cold and flu), salmonella bacteria (typhoid fever and diarrhea), and adenovirus (common cold, pneumonia, bronchitis) can possibly come in contact with the commuters.
The test revealed that buses, which are the most congested and exposed to different elements, have a contamination level of at least 3,815 RLU, making these the dirtiest among the surveyed PUVs.
The second dirtiest public transport is the tricycle, with 3,683 RLU. Tricycles are exposed to different contaminants, plying the inner streets of the city. The tricycle is followed by the jeepneys with 2,869 RLU.
Next are taxis with 1,583 RLU. Shuttles, mostly used by commuters living outside Metro Manila to travel back and forth to the city, registered 963 RLU. The only one that passed the test is the MRT with 465 RLU.
The contamination levels of these PUVs are affected by different factors such as air pollution, human contact, and frequency of cleaning practices by the operators or owners, among others.
For better perspective, a similar study conducted by P&G revealed that a trash bin cover has 2,612 contamination level, the living room floor has 1,609, the toilet bowl rim has 711, and dirty socks have 670.
“Most commuters take the public transportation because of its convenience and affordability. However, we get exposed to germs and to different people that might also carry sickness and disease,†said a regular Filipino commuter who travels from Fairview to Makati daily to go to work.
To protect the commuting public from health risks from exposure, P&G offers the following tips:
• Commuters should wash their hands or, even better, take a shower using anti-bacterial soap, upon arriving at their destination to remove the germs they get during transit. For this, P&G offers Safeguard, scientifically proven to remove 99 percent of germs, provide protection for up to 24 hours, and is available in different variants such as soap bar, body wash, and hand sanitizer.
• After a long day of traveling, use anti-bacterial laundry products to wash off germs and bacteria brought about by pollution, sweating, and coming in contact with the dirty surfaces of PUVs. For this, P&G offers Ariel with the Power of Safeguard, proven to remove 99.9 percent of germs. For added protection, P&G also has Downy Antibac that protects fabric and clothes from the growth of bacteria that can cause malodor.
