Half Of NJ Public Transit Users Admit They Do Gross Stuff: Study

Half of commuters in New Jersey admit they’ve engaged in behavior such as farting or clipping their toenails while riding public transportation, a recent study claims.

According to e-commerce website Zoro.com, which surveyed 788 commuters in some of the largest cities in the U.S. – including Newark and Jersey City – things can get pretty gross aboard trains, buses and subways in the Garden State.

Researchers said that 53% of commuters in New Jersey have admitted to farting, sneezing without covering their mouth, shaving their body, traveling while smelly or clipping their fingernails or toenails on public transportation.

“Commuters in New Jersey are the least hygienic in the entire country,” a Zoro researcher summarized.

Researchers also interviewed commuters from New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Boston, Arlington, Washington D.C., Cambridge and Chicago. Read the full public transit hygiene study and methodology.

According to Zoro:

• 1 in 10 commuters in Jersey City and Newark admitted to consuming alcohol at least once while utilizing public transit
• Leaving trash behind on public transit occurs most commonly in Jersey City and Newark, where 6.2% of passengers admitted they have left garbage in a non-designated area
• In Jersey City, nearly 53% of commuters would ban playing music out loud through speakers on public transportation if they could
• The top 3 actions passengers in Newark would like “banned from public transit” are “sexual activities with other passengers,” “getting into physical fights” and “shaving body parts in public”
• 4.6% of commuters have brought their pet on public transportation with them, an action that occurs most commonly in Jersey City and Newark

“There's no telling what you might encounter while riding the bus or train, and even if it isn't outlandish behavior, it might still grate on your nerves,” the study’s authors wrote. “With a little more consideration for fellow passengers and a commitment to respecting personal space, public transportation really can be the idyllic reprieve from the madness of rush-hour traffic.”

Some additional details from the study include:

• 70.2% of participants commuted on multiple modes of transportation (bus, subway/metro, or train), 14.2% of participants only commuted via bus, 10.9% only commuted via subway or metro, and 4.7% only commuted via train
• 55.7% of participants were men, and 44.3% were women. 4.8% of participants were baby boomers, 20.3% were from Generation X, and 74.9% were millennials

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