This week’s “Getting There” might be of interest to the gazillions of bus riders (of which I was one until this morning*) who have not yet gotten access to the H1N1 vaccine.

This flu season I’m more concerned than ever about air flow or lack thereof on public transportation. As I ride the bus daily to and from work, I’ve always been concerned about the air quality and if I’m breathing in the germs for the person standing next to me. Is there anything that Metro and Sound Transit can or is doing to mitigate this problem? Do they sanitize the bus between runs, by spraying or wiping down the grab rails?

Read the response…

Germy poles are nasty, I admit, but really no nastier than most mall door handles, library books, church hymnals, or communal party snacks. Besides, you can remove the germs you touch with regular (in my case, obsessive) hand-washing. Unfortunately, hand-washing won’t help with inhaled evils. Swine flu aside, I’m pretty creeped out by bus coughing.

Am I alone?

*I’m still working on finding one for Chicklet–stalking pretty much every health website and flu hotline in the area.