Anti-microbial grab poles could make public transport safer

Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, many people have been hesitant about taking public transport due to the perceived risk of acquiring germs from areas such as the grab-poles on trains, buses and trams, which are the principal point of contact.

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A team including researchers from WMG at the University of Warwick, product designers Transport Design International (TDI), anti-microbial additive developers BioCote and Promethean Particles and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), led by Derby-based manufacturers Composites Braiding Ltd (CBL), will produce lightweight composite grab-poles with an embedded anti-microbial property in their project AMICABLE, thanks to £480,000 from the Innovate UK Smart Grant scheme.

The retrofittable anti-microbial grab poles will be for use in modes of public transport including bus, tram, rail and underground and could be extended to numerous public-facing surfaces.

The teams, from WMG, CBL and TDI previously worked together on making the materials for the Coventry Very-Light Rail system, and using their knowledge from previous projects and concepts already developed for anti-microbial efficacy in sectors such as food packaging and healthcare, they hope to make the new grab-poles within the next 12 months.