Train, plane and bus passengers 'get less space than animals'
Commuters using trains and buses get less space than animals in cattle trucks, it has been revealed.
While cattle being transported by lorry are legally required to have a least half a square metre to move around in, people using trains get, on average, about 0.39 square metres.
And, as many a bus commuter will testify, it’s just as cramped squeezing on to the No.42 in the morning rush hour.
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Research by rail booking site Loco2 shows bus users are afforded just 0.35sq m, while on planes, it’s a similar figure.
Kate Andrews, Loco2’s co-founder and COO, said: “We decided to focus on a subject that would get attention – personal space.
“We were surprised by the results, in that all overland transport options allocate less space than the legal requirement for animals in transportation but were pleased that trains are at the top of the transport list, when it comes to space.”
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It compared its measurements with the dimensions listed in the government’s legal requirements for animal welfare based on a medium-sized calf weighing 75kg.
The research also showed the average family car offers less space than a cattle truck, giving passengers just 0.29sq m.
The most spacious to least spacious modes of travel:
Cattle truck = 0.5m2
Train = 0.39m2
Bus = 0.35m2
Plane = 0.35m2
Coach = 0.32m2
Car = 0.29m2