When standing, do you generally hold onto the bars or the loop handles attached to the bars? What did you do this morning if you were on one?
E: Sounds like bars are the popular option here too, for many reasons. Hygiene was a big one I hadn't initially considered. Thanks for answering, everyone!
Personally I don't see any benefits for the loops, and a couple major drawbacks IMHO:
Loops are less stable and require more physical force exerted by the user in order to gain a minimal amount of stability by pulling the loop taught.
Loops feel dirtier and far harder to clean. Of course given that it's public transit it's not going to be fully sanitized or anything, but I feel like users can more easily take steps to protect themselves using bars (wiping the bar quickly before grabbing it, or shielding themselves by holding it through a piece of clothing).
I kind of thought the same on the bus this morning...
I'd see the benefits mainly are for people which the bars are out of reach due to body height, or being stuck in the middle of the aisle far away from bars. Lowering them would causes people to bump into them getting up from their seat, and having too many vertical bars would give difficulty to accessibility to an extent. They have some sort of use.