Article: Commuters' pet hates include body odour, mobile phone conversations ...

[ozbob]

From the Courier Mail click here!

Commuters' pet hates include body odour, mobile phone conversations, dangerous drivers

Commuters' pet hates include body odour, mobile phone conversations, dangerous drivers

    * by Robyn Ironside
    * From: The Courier-Mail
    * March 11, 2011 12:00AM

SMELLY fellow travellers have been rated among the top pet hates of commuters, along with talking too loudly on mobile phones, service interruptions and poor airconditioning.

The international study of more than 10,000 commuters by workplace solutions provider Regus looked at the major stresses of daily peak-hour travel in six different countries.

In Australia, bad or dangerous drivers topped the list of the "seven deadly sins" of commuting, followed by delays or service interruptions, road rage and loud talkers.

Other commuters' body odour, bad breath or smelly food came in seventh behind overheating and lack of information from service providers.

Although most other countries included in the study had similar pet hates, in Japan rude behaviour was rated the worst commuting offence along with "overweight people taking up too much space".

Pollution and overheating was the No.1 bugbear for Indian commuters, while the busy Chinese could not hack service delays.

Beenleigh-line commuter Chris Casey said poor personal hygiene was an issue on crowded trains where personal space was a pipe dream.

"I tend to sit on the floor in the corner where I'm not next to the person with the body odour," she said.

"There was an instance the other day where a man came and sat between me and another woman on the floor. His body odour was so atrocious I had to stuff my face in my book so I wouldn't throw up."

Brian Hogan, who uses the Ferny Grove line to travel to work in Brisbane City, said he was always happy just to get a seat.

"This morning I sat next to a bloke who hadn't shaved or shampooed for at least a week," Mr Hogan said.

"You put up with a lot for a seat. There's a lot of things that people put up with because they have to."

Regus regional vice-president William Willems said the survey findings reflected people's worst commuting experiences.

"Road rage and dangerous driving is a real concern for drivers and pedestrians alike, hence their top billing," he said.

"Being left in the dark about service interruptions or traffic jams is also a killer for the calm and productive working day.

"And the insidious power of bad smells to get the day off to a bad start cannot be underestimated."

He said flexible working hours and working closer to home helped commuters avoid the stresses and strains of peak-hour travel.
Commuters' pet hates

    * Bad or dangerous drivers
    * Delays
    * Road rage
    * Loud talkers
    * Smelly commuters
    * Overheating
    * Lack of service information

[achiruel]

I would like to add mine, people who listen to their MP3 player so loud the rest of the bus can hear it.  Surely that must be damaging their hearing also?