Legal status of toilets and buses

Chris_533976

Heres one I've been thinking about.

Legally, what is the status of toilets on buses? How long does a bus route have to be before the bus company has to provide toilets?

Reason I ask is that I use Citylink Galway-Cork often enough, and its a 3 1/4 hour run (in good traffic) without a pee break. Now it does stop in Limerick, and theres a toilet opposite the bus stop (albeit out of order for a while), but the bus doesnt wait there. Presumably though if you went to the driver and said "good sir my bladder appears full - may I ask permission to go and drain it at that commode over yonder." he would probably let you. But according to the bus timetable he doesnt have to.

I have a strong bladder so I can make it door to door (4 1/2 hours in good traffic including getting to/from bus stations). But I know people who wont use the service because there isnt a pee stop.

Do a bus company legally have to provide a wee point and if so, how long does the trip have to be to warrent this?

Zoney

It certainly makes it an unviable option for actually a great many people. Even for those of us in the right demographic, and young and fit, it's rather horrible if you are foolish in your choice/scheduling of food and more importantly drink while travelling by bus!

At least we have toilets in all food outlets here in Ireland. If it wasn't for that, the situation would be dire even for motorists not familiar with local towns, due to the lack of motorway service stations. Even so it's iffy for outside normal hours.

I regard rail travel as the best way to travel (when all is going well, and presuming one can afford it), even taking motorways into account. Nevertheless, I have bad memories of regularly being on a commuter train set run from Limerick to Dublin that had toilets which seemed to be running biological experiments!

It's a bit odd that Dublin-Cork doesn't have the equivalent of a Borris-in-Ossory stop (as the Limerick-Dub route does - even the "non-stop" did, not sure if it is still running). It's a forsaken place and a dead 15 mins if you don't need it, but it does make a certain amount of sense! It would seem it will remain a stop on Limk-Dub even post-motorway opening, as there is a junction there.

corktina

i thought Dublin to Cork stopped at Joesephines?

dereko1969

this is obviously where the WRC will come into it's own, weak bladderers of the wesht unite you have nothing to lose but your diapers!!

Davy

corktina wrote: »

i thought Dublin to Cork stopped at Joesephines?

It does.

RayM

If you're going on a long journey, it makes sense to have a slash before you get on the coach. I've noticed on the Citylink Dublin-Galway route that most drivers will stop and wait outside pubs, etc, but one or two will announce fairly emphatically before leaving the terminus that "there will be no stopping for toilet breaks anywhere along the route". The trouble is that when the coach stops for one person, at least ten others suddenly get the urge too. And then, before you know it, you have others getting off the bus to run into Centra or have a smoke, stretch their legs, etc. A simple pee-break turns into a ten minute delay, which is pretty unfair on those of us who are considerate enough to "hold on" (sometimes in absolute agony) and acknowledge the fact that public transport doesn't lend itself to our individual needs and whims in the same way as private transport does.

I've also observed that those who request pee-breaks are usually the very same people who bring stinking sandwiches onto the bus, talk loudly on mobile phones, take up double-seats (fully reclined, of course) with their luggage (which is far too important to join everybody else's luggage in the compartment underneath), ask the driver to let them out at undesignated bus stops, spend an eternity fumbling around when paying and then don't bother thanking the driver when they disembark.

BendiBus

A large Thermos flask is just the job in an emergency! :pac:

taram

Went Galway-Cork with a pregnant friend once, think she had to pee after 30 mins :O Held her hand all the way chanting 'all in your head' at her

corktina

i would imagine they'd let you get off, have a pee and catch the next coach wouldnt they (say, at Limerick)

Rawr

Wouldn't it just be easier if Intercity busses all had toilets on-board?

GerardKeating

Rawr wrote: »

Wouldn't it just be easier if Intercity busses all had toilets on-board?

About ten years ago, all the Bus Éireann Dublin-Galway busses had toilets, they gradually they tended to be closed or out of order, then disappeared as the fleet was upgraded.

CityLink never had toilets, and GoBus just came on the Dublin-Galway route and are advertising Toilets and WiFi on all services...

Zoney

Onboard toilets aren't unusual for intercity buses outside Ireland though, are they?

Davy

Rawr wrote: »

Wouldn't it just be easier if Intercity busses all had toilets on-board?

They used to have them on a lot of the buses. Roughly ten years ago fleet. Their was to many complaints of smells etc, the drivers didn't like them. I think they could lock them, and just say out of order to prevent the buss from smelling.

Chris_533976

corktina wrote: »

i would imagine they'd let you get off, have a pee and catch the next coach wouldnt they (say, at Limerick)

In the case of Citylink tho, thats a two hour wait

corktina

are they not hourly anymore?

Chris_533976

Nope. They changed their schedule after they stopped it and restarted it again.

Much better now, just not as often. No Ennis.

http://www.citylink.ie/timetable-galw2cork.htm

Capt'n Midnight

Zoney wrote: »

Onboard toilets aren't unusual for intercity buses outside Ireland though, are they?

we are a relatively small island TBH.