Summer public transport in Spain: class and bad smells
Bad smells on the metro in summer: class or hygiene? Energy poverty figures and cheap clothing explain why public transport in Spain smells bad.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Why the bus in August is a class battleground
A two-income couple heads home on the metro. The temperature outside is close to 35 degrees, and inside the carriage the air is unbreathable. It's not just the heat. It's the smell of sweat mixed with cheap perfume, of synthetic clothes that don't breathe, of bodies that have spent hours on the street without a shower. Someone says out loud: "Poor people stink, damn it." The blunt remark captures a tension that flares up every summer on Spanish public transport.
The recurring debate about summer transport conditions has a class component few are willing to voice. Those who can afford the air conditioning of a private car or remote work avoid the metro. Those with no choice — cleaners, shelf stackers, construction workers — are crammed into carriages where temperatures exceed 30 degrees and ventilation is inadequate. The perception of "bad smell" is not neutral: it links poverty with dirtiness and forgets that washing three times a day is a luxury when you work 10 hours in an industrial kitchen or out on the street.
Hygiene as a luxury: the numbers don't add up
The INE's Living Conditions Survey (2023) shows that 27% of Spanish households struggle to keep their homes at a suitable temperature in summer. In low-income neighbourhoods, the figure doubles. Without air conditioning at home, the body accumulates sweat and grease faster. Cheap polyester clothing — the most affordable kind — doesn't breathe and traps odours. It's not a lack of willpower: it's a lack of resources. The argument "if you smell bad, it's your own fault" clashes with the reality of those who can afford neither daily laundry nor brand-name deodorant.
The most common reaction to the discomfort of public transport is disconnection: staring at your phone, reading a book, getting off one stop early to walk and stress less. A sensory survival strategy that avoids eye contact with other people's misery. But the discomfort isn't solved by ignoring it: every summer, the metro becomes a space where the class gap is smelled, touched and endured. Until autumn arrives.
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A two-income couple heads home on the metro. The temperature outside is close to 35 degrees, and inside the carriage the air is unbreathable. It's not just the heat. It's the smell of sweat mixed with cheap perfume, of synthetic clothes that don't breathe, of bodies that have spent hours on the street without a shower. Someone says out loud: "Poor people stink, damn it." The blunt remark captures a tension that flares up every summer on Spanish public transport.
The recurring debate about summer transport conditions has a class component few are willing to voice. Those who can afford the air conditioning of a private car or remote work avoid the metro. Those with no choice — cleaners, shelf stackers, construction workers — are crammed into carriages where temperatures exceed 30 degrees and ventilation is inadequate. The perception of "bad smell" is not neutral: it links poverty with dirtiness and forgets that washing three times a day is a luxury when you work 10 hours in an industrial kitchen or out on the street.
Hygiene as a luxury: the numbers don't add up
The INE's Living Conditions Survey (2023) shows that 27% of Spanish households struggle to keep their homes at a suitable temperature in summer. In low-income neighbourhoods, the figure doubles. Without air conditioning at home, the body accumulates sweat and grease faster. Cheap polyester clothing — the most affordable kind — doesn't breathe and traps odours. It's not a lack of willpower: it's a lack of resources. The argument "if you smell bad, it's your own fault" clashes with the reality of those who can afford neither daily laundry nor brand-name deodorant.
The most common reaction to the discomfort of public transport is disconnection: staring at your phone, reading a book, getting off one stop early to walk and stress less. A sensory survival strategy that avoids eye contact with other people's misery. But the discomfort isn't solved by ignoring it: every summer, the metro becomes a space where the class gap is smelled, touched and endured. Until autumn arrives.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (11 replies).
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