A frustrated Toronto bus driver is complaining about the unpleasant scents aboard the TTC, and other commuters are agreeing with him.
Earlier this week, the fed-up TTC driver posted a video on TikTok, asking a simple question.
“Why are y’all coming on the bus musty at 8 a.m. in the morning?,” he queried.
“Your armpits stink. Your breath stinks. What are we doing?,” the driver added.
The feeling reverberated across TTC riders, with many sharing their experiences and some even taking time to thank the driver for saying what many had been thinking for years.
“This is regular, welcome to Toronto,” one commenter wrote under the driver’s video.
“I appreciate those drivers that keep the windows open for some air circulation,” another said.
“Someone’s stench was so bad on the streetcar a few weeks ago the driver just kicked everyone off,” another commenter shared.
Locals also expressed their hardships with dealing with the often sour odours and poor hygiene that seem to have become part of the daily commute.
“Sometimes, it stinks,” one person bluntly told Now Toronto.
Another local says the powerful scents are “not a new thing, but it’s heightened for sure.”
According to the transit agency, its 2025 budget invests more than $16 billion into projects such as improving cleanliness across the system, particularly in six priority locations (Scarborough Town Centre bus terminal, and Kennedy, Dundas, Finch, Spadina, and Lansdowne stations).
But still, the public outcry continues to grow. While the comments may be lighthearted, the underlying sentiment is serious: riders desire a more hygienic and dignified transit experience. Some have suggested solutions ranging from better cleaning to public awareness campaigns promoting hygiene.
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“I see sometimes in the trains they have the physical posters where it’s like, ‘Give your seat to somebody else’… they can kind of integrate that into hygiene,” one person said.
“I think that’d be a good way for anybody to be able to access that, because there are some people that are not on technology and they don’t have social media to be seeing stuff like this,” they added.
Another local agreed with the idea of signage, but also says the best way for passengers to be mindful of their hygiene is to simply take care of themselves.
“Get up early and take a shower and brush your teeth,” he said.
Others argue for greater empathy, recognizing that not all riders have access to showers or clean clothes, especially those experiencing housing insecurity.
“I think all the money goes to the fare inspectors when it really should go for harm reduction seeing the homeless people and just being able to address that, because I think that’s more concerning than people not paying a certain fare.”
