The TTC is moving to plastic bus seats, so why are Toronto's new LRT seats fabric?

When Rujuta Kumthekar rides the TTC, she doesn't take a seat.

"I just moved here like a year ago and pretty much everyone I asked told me to not sit, so I don't sit."

Kumthekar blames the weird stains she's seen on the TTC's red fabric seats. She would reconsider sitting — if the seats were plastic.

"Plastic works just because it's easier to clean," she said.

Other transit systems, most recently in Seattle, have shifted away from fabric seats, citing complaints about cleanliness. Toronto transit is in the midst of its own seat debate.

As it orders new buses, the TTC says they will now have plastic seats, instead of fabric ones. Currently, only 100 or so of the city's roughly 2,000 buses have plastic seats.

"They are certainly easier to maintain and keep clean," said TTC spokesperson Stuart Green.

Metrolinx, however, opted for fabric onboard the new Eglinton and Finch light rail vehicles.

"The advantages of the fabric seats are that they offer more comfort, warmth and friction [preventing sliding]," said Metrolinx spokesperson Lyndsay Miller in an email.

"The fabric was chosen because it is extremely durable and easy to clean," she said.

The fabric is actually a wool material called a moquette. Sure, it's prone to mystery stains. But in cities like London, it's become an iconic symbol. You can buy its eye-popping patterns on shirts, doormats, pillows, armchairs, even a three-seat sofa.

The Instagram account @idontgiveaseat documents even more far-out patterns.

Toronto's current transit seat design is much less memorable — on the TTC, the seat fabric is plain red, or blue for priority seating.

Helen Kerr was tasked with designing Eglinton's fabric seat pattern — and she wanted it to stand out. A sign of just how long Eglinton took to open, Kerr's design was finalized more than a decade ago.