Abstract
Nowadays, cities are increasingly promoting active transportation modes and public transport to reduce car use. In parallel, the management of problematic ambient factors such as the odour in public transport systems is becoming a very important issue due to crowding that is constantly increasing. In this context, in order to contribute to public policies and to reduce olfactory nuisances, we evaluated the effects of ambient scent diffusers on the user experience and their attitude toward the use of such devices in public transport. We collected data among users of the tramway of Montpellier (France). They were questioned on-board about the ambient odour in two different situations. Users answered either in presence (70 users) or absence (97 users) of an ambient scent in the tramway carriage they were in. Our main results show that the presence of an ambient scent increased the pleasantness rating of the ambient odour and attenuated the perception of other odours inherent to public transport (perspiration, food, perfumes, etc.). Furthermore, the user attitude toward the presence of such a device in tramway carriages improved when the ambient scent was present. Thus, ambient scents might be a great tool in order to improve the olfactory comfort in public transport.
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The datasets used and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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Acknowledgements
We would like to thank Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole and Transports de l’Agglomération de Montpellier (TaM) for allowing and helping us to carry out the present study. We also thank Olivier Octobre for letting us use his photos of the four tramway lines of Montpellier.
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This work has been funded by the French National Association for Research and Technology (http://www.anrt.asso.fr/) through a CIFRE Grant 2017/0475 in partnership with Arthur Dupuy®.
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LB supervised the study and contributed to the writing of the manuscript. GD and SM supervised the study. IB collected data and contributed to the results analysis. AD and IP designed and developed the apparatus we used in the tram and contributed to the writing of the manuscript. FC designed the questionnaire, collected and analysed the data, and was a major contributor in writing the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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FC, AD, and IP are currently employed by the company Arthur Dupuy®.
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Collin, F., Dupuy, A., Parrot, I. et al. The effects of ambient scent on olfactory comfort and attitude toward its use in a tramway: an on-board study. Public Transp 16, 81–97 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12469-023-00347-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12469-023-00347-2