My two cents are that urban rapid transit is not intended to be something people need to spend much time on (hence prioritizing standing room) so cheaper, easier to clean, sanitize, etc. seats are preferred over comfort. But the Green Line is in a unique position where it is in every way a tram (expect D and GLX), that should be to serve a high volume of short on-off trips, but instead is the only high capacity transit connection to its service area and therefore has most passengers spending a ridiculously long time on-board and should have a little nicer seats for that.