Cars from ride-hailing apps like Uber and Lyft are dirtier than taxis, rentals, and even toilet seats, according to a study that collected bacteria from 9 vehicles

• Rideshare vehicles have more germs than taxis or rental cars, according to a study from the insurance-shopping website NetQuote.
• NetQuote swabbed surfaces in three rideshare vehicles, three taxis, and three rental cars.
• The rideshare vehicles had 6,055,963 colony-forming units per square-inch (CFU), while the rental cars had 2,000,510 CFU and the taxis had 27,593 CFU.
• According to NetQuote, a colony-forming unit is "the number of viable bacteria cells present in a sample."
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Rideshare cars have more germs than taxis or rental cars, according to a study from the insurance-shopping website NetQuote.

The company swabbed surfaces in three rideshare vehicles, three taxis, and three rental cars. Samples were taken from a seat belt, door handle, and window buttons in the rideshare vehicles and taxis, and from the steering wheel, gear shift, and seat belt in the rental cars. 

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The rideshare vehicles had 6,055,963 colony-forming units per square-inch (CFU), while the rental cars had 2,000,510 CFU, and the taxis had 27,593 CFU. According to NetQuote, a colony-forming unit is "the number of viable bacteria cells present in a sample." NetQuote did not disclose which rideshare, rental-car, or taxi companies it used in the study.

The rideshare vehicles also had more germs than toothbrush holders (2,140,953 CFU), coffee reservoirs (32,635 CFU), and toilet seats (172 CFU), according to the study.

For rideshare vehicles, the window buttons had the most bacteria, with 5,054,000 CFU. Seat belts had the most bacteria (26,000 CFU) in taxis, and the gear-shifts had the most bacteria (1,000,093 CFU) in rental cars.

Rideshare vehicles were found to have the highest proportion of bacillus germs, relative to other forms of bacteria. Bacillus germs can cause infections and food poisoning, according to NetQuote.

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