Do Smelly Bus Riders Have Rights?
As much as it bothers me when people bring their pungent personal odors on the bus, I always just buckle down and tell myself to stop acting so spoiled and get over it. It's the bus. If I wanted to avoid all the annoyances that come along with public transportation, I should just drive my own car, catch a cab, or walk.
That said, this morning when I was about to board the 90 bus at 18th Street and Columbia Road NW, I knew I was in for a sensory experience. I'd dashed across 18th to make the bus before it pulled off without me. As I fell into the queue, I noticed that the last passenger to board before me had all the indicators of an ensuing stench. His jacket and jeans were torn and soiled, and he was toting two large, tattered black garbage bags. And then, when I got close enough, I did indeed smell the aroma.
After paying (with cash, not a transfer) the odorous man hurried to the very back of the bus. I sat in the front. All of the passengers who were sitting towards the back of the bus made kind of a rude show of huffing and puffing and gathering up their things and moving to the front. So the odorous man sat in the back alone and silent.
We rode a few blocks and it wasn't so bad. But at 15th and U Streets, the bus driver pulled over and walked to the back of the bus and told the man very indiscreetly, "Man, you've got to get off this bus. You've got to catch another bus. You've got people getting sick on here because of you."
The odorous man quietly gathered his bags and descended the back steps. The other riders then thanked their valiant bus driver for making the ride more comfortable. But something about the whole scene sort of hit me wrong. Of all the signs I've ever observed prohibiting various activities while on board, I can only remember "no smoking", "no eating or drinking" and "no stereos without headphones." But I can't recall any signs that read "no odors."
Which caused me to wonder, aside from it being mean and somewhat discriminatory, was this bus driver's action legal? If a person pays to ride, shouldn't he be able to ride regardless or his personal fragrance or odor? It's the friggin' bus! And furthermore, when has Metro ever given a damn about passenger comfort? I would think that repairing their decrepit vehicles would come before putting paying customers out on the street.
7:22 pm
Anyone remember the song "the wheels on the bus go round and round"? One of the lines is "the babies on the bus go wah wah wah" That's got to be just as annoying. Do babies get to ride the bus?
How about parks? When we remove benches from parks in an effort to remove homeless, we also pretty much remove everyone else. Except (and this really truly isn't meant as a jab at dog owners) yuppies with dogs...
I'm guilty, too. I can't stand the echo of a HD motorcycle in the city. Or lound car stereos, even. I guess we should all be quiet, and invisible to others.
9:23 am
If you cared so much about the smelly homeless dude, then why didn't you get off with him, hug him and take the next bus with him?
Oh, that's right! Because he stunk like piss and poop and it's much easier to feel holier than thou from afar than actually getting right next to the smelly bum and singing Kumbaya with him.
11:01 am
What good would have that done? And what makes you think he would have even wanted a hug from me? I assume he was just trying to get from A to B just like I was.
1:10 pm
I got on the S2 northbound last Saturday night and around 16th and U a man got on wearing tattered gear, a garbage bag and tried to shuffle his way to the back, but it was too crowded. Now piss and poop are one thing, but this dude smelled like death, like rotting flesh. I had to move and bury a month-old dead rabbit (used to live in suburban PA) one time, in July, because a neighbors dog was chewing on it, and this man's odor was so much worse. It permeated my soul. He either had gangrene, absesses or something nasty (possibly dead and illegal) in his bag. People opened windows, I got off at the next stop and walked the rest of the way.
Point being, if someone is yelling into a phone, playing music loudly or drunkinly slamming into people, they are in the wrong, because they are offending passenger's senses and wellbeing, right? So smelling like a toilet or roadkill or a vomit is also wrong? What if you forgot to apply deodorant and are "a little stinky?" Offending odors can be a sliding scale but when people are sick and moving or opening windows I believe something must be done.
3:10 pm
I have no idea what the source of the odor was in the cases mentioned above. But we here at City Paper did a story a while back about the challenges faced by federal Marshals at D.C. Superior Court. The following is an excerpt from that story and may shed some light on how these powerful odors come about:
The smell of incense is overwhelming. Brandt explains that the Marshals burn it to combat the stench; otherwise, it would “smell strongly of decaying flesh.” It’s common that a number of lockups live on the street and might be wearing three pairs of pants—sometimes clothing becomes grafted to the skin. The smell is “vomit-inspiring,” Brandt says.
3:30 pm
In the most common situations, like loud cell phone talking and double-seat taking, what really pisses people off is the lack of common consideration, aka "respect".
In the cases above, what people are reacting to is the inevitable result from a very real breakdown in mental health and plain 'ol regular health care in DC. It's not like anyone in their right mind would walk about with pants grafted into their skin. And, yet, plenty of homeless do.
How do we respond? By demanding they get the fuck off the bus, out of our parks and, generally, that they dissappear. I say let em have the parks and the busses. It's good public education.