To Entice Riders, Singapore Buses Get a 'Signature Scent'

It’s not often that you hear commuters talk about how much they enjoy the smells of the city bus. But this month in Singapore, taking a deep breath in through your nose might not be such a risky proposition for commuters. In fact, they might even pick up hints of rose and peppermint.

That’s the “signature scent” being deployed over the next month to entice people to use more public transit. The public bus operator Tower Transit will pump the new scent into 100 of its buses, following a months-long partnership with the local marketing company AllSense. In an interview with the BBC, scent expert Terry Jacobson describes the smell as having a “green note” that reflects the city’s biodiversity, mixed with a cool, refreshing aroma that soothes passengers in the city’s tropical climate. And while the smell is subtle, so passengers aren’t overwhelmed, Tower Transit hopes it’s strong enough to keep riders coming back—and more importantly, to lure people away from their cars.