Researchers produce lightweight grab-poles with anti-microbial property for public transport Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic many people have been, or may feel, hesitant about taking public transport, due to the perceived risk of picking up germs from areas such as the grab-poles on trains, buses and trams, which are the principal point of contact. However, a team including researchers from WMG at the University of Warwick, product designers Transport Design International (TDI), anti-microbial additive developers BioCote and Promethean Particles and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), led by Derby-based manufacturers Composites Braiding Ltd (CBL), will produce lightweight composite grab-poles with an embedded anti-microbial property in their project AMICABLE, thanks to a £480,000 award from the Innovate UK Smart Grant scheme.