By Tom McLean
To smell or not to smell: that is the question for OC Transpo riders both for and against the transportation company’s campaign to keep scented body products from clouding the air.
Lucy Doré, OC Transpo director of communications, says the company was approached last year by the Allergy and Environmental Health Association of Ottawa and was urged to help riders with allergies to chemical scents.
Last November, OC Transpo began posting signs inside buses to inform riders their perfume or deodorant may irritate the person sitting next to them.
The idea to conduct the awareness campaign was prompted by OC Transpo chairman Al Loney, who said he felt compelled to act after he found himself sitting next to a fur-coated woman in Stockholm who smelled strongly of tobacco and perfume.
“The whole idea of the campaign was to render a service to some of our customers by making the environment more pleasant and asking people to think about it before they walk on the bus,” says Doré.
She was quick to explain that no one can be kicked off the bus for wearing perfume — the point is to educate people about the problem. The percentage of riders who react physically to perfumes is small (the association could not be reached for an exact figure), though Doré says it’s significant enough to warrant the campaign.
But feelings were mixed at the Bank and Slater streets Transitway terminal, where about 35 people who had just left work were waiting for their buses home. Some were laughing at OC Transpo, most were indifferent, and some were downright angry with what they perceive as one more politically-correct headache to add to a pile that already teeters on the ridiculous.
OC Transpo is pushing hard to attract riders with advertising campaigns designed to convince people to choose cheap, environmentally friendly and rush-hour-quick bus transit over the comfort and privacy of their cars. One middle-aged woman, Pamela, who was shivering as she waited for the 95 Baseline, said the company’s campaign will simply alienate the majority of its clients.
One of the campaign signs reads: “Breathing scents can bring on strong headaches, asthma attacks, skin rashes, dizziness, nausea and so on. And that can make a bus ride a very unpleasant way to start or end the day.”
“I doubt people are going to stop wearing perfume and deodorant, but they might stop taking the bus if they’re going to be guilt-tripped every day,” said Pamela.
An older lady in a fur coat agreed and said OC Transpo would be better-off addressing issues that cause headaches for everyone, such as squealing infants and loud-mouthed teens. She jokingly said she would like to see signs that read “Be considerate — sedate your children.”
Oddly, no one who voiced insensitive opinions felt comfortable enough to give their names and no one who suffers from perfume allergies could be found at the terminal to rebut their comments.
“The responses we’ve received have been half-and-half,” says Doré. “Some people with allergies say they’re very pleased that people now understand the difficulties they face in enclosed spaces, and some called to say that they understand the issue but ‘no thanks’ — they’re not buying it.”
Most of the rush-hour bus riders nodded vigorously at the suggestion that they would be more concerned with fixing the problem of people who stink, period.
One man offered a uniquely insensitive solution: nose plugs.
“You can get two for a dollar and they work really well,” he said. Of course, he wouldn’t offer his name.