Riding on a public transportation system is a mixed bag: you get to where you’re going in an eco-friendly way, but you also have to deal with sticky floors, weird people, and filthy handrails. And then there’s the fact that the handrails are way too high for some people to reach. Designer Justin Choy had enough of the handrail situation, so he invented the Rail Reach.

This simple, foldable plastic device fits into your purse or backpack. When you hop onto a train or bus and there are no seats, you just hook the Rail Reach over the handrail and comfortably hang onto it during your ride. The handle part is covered in a soft material to keep your hand comfortable; the part that hooks over the rail is lined in the same material to keep it from slipping around.

Besides being a handy way to extend your reach, the Rail Reach can keep you healthy by putting a layer between you and all of the germs hanging around on those handrails. Any regular public transportation rider will appreciate that the Rail Reach will probably cut down on the number of colds they get every year.

One version of the device features a small mirror so users can either look behind them surreptitiously or check out their appearance before getting to their stop. Choy took his project to Kickstarter to raise the funds needed for a first production run of the helpful little gadget.