Standing passenger

The seated-to-standing ratio is the ratio between the number of passengers that can be seated and the number of standing passengers on a public transport vehicle. A higher standing ratio allows for more passengers in a given area, but detracts the perceived quality of the transport, in particular over long distances. This metric is normally limited to urban mass transit, due to intercity transport normally only offering seated travel. On longer haul services, bilevel cars are often used to allow for increased seating, though this increases the dwell time at stations, making increased seating ratio versus service time tradeoffs. ==Passengers per square metre==

Passengers per square metre is a quality of service metric used to determine the standard of comfort provided to standing passengers in a transportation vehicle. Multiplying this number by the total available standing area on a vehicle gives the total standing passenger capacity. Bus services in Europe operate at about four passengers per square metre. ==Safety and health==

Standing passengers are susceptible to suffering falls and other injuries, particularly elderly people. Shorter people and children may not be able to reach ceiling-mounted handles, straps, or rails. Porous cloth straps are hard to clean, and are being replaced by rubber or plastic straps, and metal fixtures often made of stainless steel. ==Handholds==

Various types of handholds are provided for standing passengers: • hanging strap – a strap suspended from the ceiling (often with a handle or a loop) • grab handle – a pivoted, rigidly-mounted, or suspended handle often mounted above eye level of standing passengers • handrails – rigid rails running horizontally below the ceiling • stanchions – vertical poles anchored between the floor and ceiling • grab rails or grab bars – smaller hand rails attached to seats, doors, and doorways File:Inside the A stock ^1 - geograph.org.uk - 1466784.jpg|An old-fashioned London Underground train with hanging straps without looped handles File:LUL-S-Stock-passenger-information-display.jpg|Handrails on a modern London Underground S Stock train File:Strap handle S7 stock.jpg|Straps inside a London Underground train File:MTA NYC Subway R30 8506 interior.JPG|Older NYCTA R30 train carriage has two rows of pivoted grab handles MTA NYC Subway Bombardier Transportation R179 3015 interior.jpg|R179 car has numerous handholds and looped stanchions for high capacity services in New York City File:Grab Handles.jpg|Bus grab handles in Bengaluru, India File:Bus Grab Handle.jpg|Grab handles on a commuter bus. File:Sheffield Supertram interior (original design) - geograph.org.uk - 1705093.jpg|The Supertram in Sheffield, England with moveable straps File:Ferrocarril Urquiza, Estación Federico Lacroze 02.jpg|Railcar in Buenos Aires with suspended rings File:Haltegriffe-U3-Bahn-Wien2014.jpg|Handholds onboard a Vienna U3 train File:Tram Griffe.jpg|Moveable straps on a Vienna tram File:Korail 1000 Series Subway Train - Flickr - skinnylawyer (1).jpg|Strap-hung handles onboard a Seoul Metropolitan Subway railcar File:KRL Jabotabek women-only car 8510 20111126.JPG|Suspended rings in Indonesia File:Interior of Hyundai Universe Space Elegance CNG.jpg|High-floor coach in South Korea, unusually fitted with grab handles and poles ==References==