A new survey has found that many bus routes across the UK lack access to basic toilet facilities for drivers, prompting calls for clearer standards and improved provision across the network.
The research has been carried out by Unite the Union and published to coincide with World Toilet Day (19 November). It reviewed 420 routes operated by a range of major bus operators and found more than half (222) had no driver toilets available along the route, while a significant proportion (138) also lacked facilities at route termini.
In 155 cases, the survey reported no formal procedures for drivers needing to access a toilet mid-route.
Drivers quoted in the research describe difficulties managing long shifts without predictable toilet access and noted the health, safety and dignity challenges this creates. Several say they avoid drinking water during shifts, particularly at night when public facilities are often closed. Others draw attention to passenger frustration when services are paused for toilet breaks.
Women and people who menstruate face additional challenges, alongside those undergoing menopause or with health conditions. Some drivers describe situations in which they resorted to seeking help from nearby residents or using public spaces when no facilities were available.
Unite says it will meet with Members of Parliament on World Toilet Day to raise the issue, and will follow with a wider public campaign. It is calling for consistent access to clean, secure toilets on routes and at depots, alongside appropriate handwashing facilities and support for drivers who experience passenger aggression when stopping to use the toilet.
Unite General Secretary Sharon Graham says: “The right to a toilet at work is a basic human one and should be a given for all workers. Bus companies know what they should be doing but are ignoring the welfare of their drivers.
“Unite will fight every step of the way to ensure that our members have toilet dignity in the workplace.”
Adds Unite National Officer for Passenger Transport, Wayne King: “For many of us, being able to use the toilet at work whenever we need to is something we take for granted, but this is not the case for bus drivers.
“It defies belief that bus drivers are putting themselves in embarrassing situations at work or risking their own health or safety because of a lack of toilets. Access to decent toilets is not just the law, it is a basic human right and Unite will work hard to ensure employers take this need seriously.”
Alison Edwards, Director of Policy and External Relations at the Confederation of Passenger Transport, comments: “Britain would grind to a halt without the country’s 82,000 bus drivers who perform a valuable role in carrying 11 million people a day to work, to education or to access local services.
“Bus operators value the contribution of drivers and recognise the importance of comfort and dignity at work. The industry works hard to provide toilets at key points along routes, liaising with local transport authorities and businesses where appropriate. It is never acceptable for bus drivers to face abuse from passengers for taking toilet breaks.”
