Why buses in Japan use human hair in their fare collection boxes

The secret to making fare collection in Japanese buses more efficient turns out to be human hair — particularly Indian people's hair. Key details: Using human hair for fare boxes has reportedly been something Japanese buses have been doing for decades now. The Japanese media outlet noted that Chinese people’s hair was used in Japanese buses before, but bus companies seem to prefer Indian people’s hair as they have "just the right firmness and electrostatic properties for the job."