ADAMS: The Bus Should Not Smell Like Regret

Let's talk about the Durham Region Transit bus I boarded yesterday. More accurately, let's talk about the assault on the senses that occurred on that bus.

There is absolutely no reason a public vehicle, funded by taxpayer dollars and essential to our community, should smell like a ten-day unwashed butthole marinating in regret.

Yet, there we were.

This was not a passing odour. It was lingering. It followed passengers down the aisle. It attacked the senses upon entry and clung to the air long after the source had—one hopes—departed. It was a pervasive, undeniable fact of that journey. I didn't even want to sit down.

Looking around, I saw I wasn't alone. Multiple people, from students to seniors, were actively covering their noses, their faces etched with the same dismay.

Here is the simple, unvarnished truth we must confront: public transit is a shared space, not a biohazard experiment. I say this not to shame, but to champion a basic standard of communal living.

Reliable, affordable transit is the lifeblood of a connected, equitable, and sustainable community. I believe in public transit and want more people to use, rely on, and see it as a dignified alternative to car dependency. But its success hinges on a fundamental, non-negotiable contract of mutual respect.

That contract is broken when one person's profound neglect becomes everyone else's profound discomfort. It's broken when the air becomes unbreathable. It's broken when the very act of taking the bus becomes an exercise in endurance.

The solution is not complex. It is not expensive. It is foundational to a civilized society.

Soap.

Water.

Daily.

This is a matter of public health and public dignity. For the worker heading to their job, for the parent with their child, for the student rushing to class, the bus should be a conduit to opportunity, not an olfactory ordeal. So, if you are reading this and feel a pang of recognition?

Good. This op-ed was written just for you.

This isn't about judging someone down on their luck. It's about addressing a conscious choice to neglect a basic human courtesy that impacts dozens of people every single day. We all have a responsibility to the public sphere. We all must do our part.

Respectfully, wash your ass. Your fellow citizens, and our shared future, will thank you.

The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of The Provincial Times or Left Lane Media Group. Read our Content Policy here.