FTA: Fat People Throw Off Muni Safety

The federal government is considering revising safety rules for city buses because of overweight passengers, reports USAToday (via @sal_castaneda).

The Federal Transit Authority (FTA) proposes raising the assumed average weight per bus passenger from 150 pounds to 175 pounds, which could mean that across the country, fewer people will be allowed on a city transit bus. The transit authority, which regulates how much weight a bus can carry, also proposes adding an additional quarter of a square foot of floor space per passenger. The changes are being sought “to acknowledge the expanding girth of the average passenger,” the agency says.

The assumed average bus rider weight is still lighter than other passengers, though. “The Federal Aviation Administration, which oversees airline travel, gauges average passenger weight at 190 pounds in the summer and 195 pounds in the winter. The Coast Guard’s assumed average weight is 185 pounds for boats and ferries,” reports USAToday.

I guess we can rest easy for now, since San Francisco was rated the leanest city in America in Men’s Health magazine’s 2010 survey of 100 U.S. cities. Phew. Gotta get on that treadmill tomorrow!