Indeed, commuting/travel is one of the few aspects of our daily lives that has not gotten any faster as the decades have gone by Colvile ( 2017). This represents a not inconsiderable source of stress for many people, especially when their travel is, for whatever reason, impeded (Novaco et al., 1990). To give some context, North Americans spend an average of an hour a day behind the wheel ( ), be it the daily commute or the school run (see also Chapin, 1974). In this review, I will consider the role played by ambient scent in passenger transportation–what might be considered “scent in motion,” though, as we will see later, sometimes it will be more a case of “stench in motion” (Robinson, 2016). This should come as little surprise when it is realized that the world's majority urban population spends an estimated 90–95% of their time indoors (Ott and Roberts, 1998 Klepeis et al., 2001 Wargocki, 2001 Velux YouGov Report, 2018) 1. Scent plays an important role in our experience of the built environment (see Spence, 2020c, for a recent review). The specific challenges associated with scent in motion are reviewed and a number of future opportunities highlighted. Meanwhile, in the case of driving, scents have been suggested as an inoffensive means of alerting/relaxing the driver and may also help tackle the problem of motion sickness. In the latter case, one might consider the use of scent to help reduce the stress/anxiety amongst airplane passengers or to give the impression of cleanliness. They include the masking of malodour, the introduction of branded signature scents, short-term olfactory marketing interventions, and the functional use of scent to enhance the experience of travel. Four key functional roles for scent in the context of passenger transportation are outlined. As highlighted by this narrative review, somewhat different challenges and opportunities arise just as soon as one starts to consider olfaction in the case of transportation–what might be called “scent in motion.” For instance, levels of anxiety/stress while traveling are often higher (especially in the case of air travel), while, at the same time, the passenger's personal space is frequently compromised. However, to date, the majority of the research has focused on its use in the (static) built environment. There is undoubtedly growing interest in the role of scent in the design of multisensory experiences.
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