diamond geezer

 Sunday, February 20, 2022

If you've ever been caught short on a bus, or nervously crossed your legs and wished your stop was closer, remember you have it easy. You can hop off if things get desperate and take your chances elsewhere but the bus driver has no choice, they have to rely on facilities provided at the terminus.

This can be awkward. Not all routes operate between locations with plumbing infrastructure like bus stations or depots - many stop in the middle of a housing estate or even in deep country. And while there might be a friendly business nearby willing to step in and help, that's not much good if they shut up shop at 6pm and drivers are still out past midnight. The locations of bus termini are determined by all sorts of factors, key amongst which are somewhere to park and somewhere to turn the vehicle round. Availability of decent toilet facilities is never top of the list.

In 2017 the London Assembly published a report called Driven to Distraction which asked, amongst several other welfare questions, whether bus drivers had access to sufficient toilet facilities. In particular committee members demanded "a commitment to deliver a toilet on each bus route (available at all times that the bus is in service) by the end of 2018". Within months every route had "some level of access to toilet facilities", although only 417 bus route termini had full time provision. The Mayor then pledged £6m of funding to deliver permanent toilets along the 40 routes which had only limited access or limited opening hours.



This meant plonking metal boxes on a convenient scrap of roadside in 40 disparate locations, a task which TfL undertook without always informing local residents of their plans. Many were then surprised, or even shocked, to discover drivers would be relieving themselves in toilets within sight of their front gardens. A particular cause célèbre was on Melody Road in Biggin Hill, the southern terminus of route R2, where the facility was vandalised in anger six hours after being installed. Residents nicknamed it the 'Turdis' and made sure to whinge about it loudly to the media. The BBC were told "I have never seen anything like that on a residential street before, it is just hideous," while the Evening Standard extracted this gem from a childcare provider.
"Everyone's been saying that house prices were going to go down. We had someone come to look at our house and it was the first thing she noticed and obviously she wasn't interested."
TfL relented within a month and withdrew the facility, which was excellent news for property values in TN16 3PL but less good for bus drivers who planned on drinking liquids. They've been a bit more careful since the Biggin Hill debacle but have still annoyed several householders elsewhere because there's often nowhere a box like this can hide.

The pandemic delayed the later stages of rollout but over 60 new roadside toilet facilities have been installed since 2018. This included a few long routes which previously had provision only at one end, and also sites which suddenly became critical when an existing route was amended or extended. This blog likes to bring you exciting London transport lists, so here's a cut and pasted version of the routes and bus stands where drivers can now find relief.

Bus routes with a toilet installed since 2018
42 Worship Street; 78 Nunhead, St Mary’s Road; 88 Clapham Common, Old Town; 96 Bluewater; 121 Enfield Lock; 124/126 Eltham High Street; 130 New Addington, Vulcan Way; 163 Morden station; 174 Harold Hill; 196 Norwood Junction; 214/271 Moorgate, Finsbury Square; 232 St Raphael’s Estate; 234 Barnet, The Spires; 263 Highbury and Islington station; 273 Petts Wood station; 274 Lancaster Gate; 281 Tolworth, Ewell Road; 287 Barking station; 288 Queensbury Morrison's; 290 Staines bus station; 291 Queen Elizabeth Hospital; 292 Colindale Asda; 321 Foots Cray Tesco; 343 South Kensington; 345 Natural History Museum; 368 Barking, Hart Estate; 370 Lakeside; 393 Clapton Pond; 414 Maida Hill; 415 Tulse Hill station; 430 Roehampton, Danbury Avenue; 455 Wallington station; 499 Gallows Corner Tesco; E5 Toplocks Estate; G1 Hermitage Lane, Norbury; H13 Ruislip Lido; H20 Hounslow Civic Centre; H28 Syon Lane Tesco, Osterley; K3 Roehampton Asda; K5 Ham, Dukes Avenue; N8 Hainault, the Lowe; R1 St Paul’s Cray; R7 Chelsfield; R68 Kew Retail Park; U7 Uxbridge station; W8 Chase Farm Hospital; W14 Woodford Bridge; W15 Cogan Avenue Estate

Toilets provided to facilitate bus service changes (since January 2019)
27 Glenthorne Road, Hammersmith; 33 Lonsdale Road, Richmond; 100 St Paul's station; 278 Ruislip station; 306 Acton Vale, Bromyard Avenue; 341 Waterloo Road, Lambeth; 386 Woolwich Arsenal DLR; 404 Cane Hill; 440 Wembley Eastern Lands; 483 Windmill Lane, Greenford; S1 Banstead High Street


Papers for a committee meeting this week confirm that at TfL's previous delivery rate it would have taken nine years to achieve this level of provision. The speed of rollout is evidently a success story... so long as you can get around the fact that toilet facilities were never standard in the first place. But we're not quite there just yet.

Several routes "with a round trip greater than 150 minutes with provision only at one end" remain outstanding, and these will be addressed in future as priority and funding allows. Meanwhile according to a recent Mayoral question London still has three bus routes where drivers can only use a toilet for part of a shift.
"There are currently three known routes – R2, 286 and 394 – where access to toilets is not available for all hours of the operating day. One of these (route 286) has a temporary toilet installed because access to the previously available facilities has not been possible due to pandemic restrictions. TfL will review access to staff facilities for route 286 when this changes. Facilities for routes R2 and 394 are currently in detailed design and, subject to funding and planning negotiations, will be built in 2022."
You may notice that one of these outstanding services is the R2, the route which caused all that consternation in deepest Biggin Hill. Its noisiest residents would no doubt be happier to lose their bus service than suffer the indignity of a turdis, because that's car-owning home-owners for you. They should be pleased that TfL's new plan appears to be to add a toilet at the other end of the route, which is round the back of the shops in Orpington where outcry should be less. But that'll still leave the R2's drivers susceptible to an 18 mile round trip on a potentially full bladder, while drivers on certain other routes already endure worse.

So next time you're on a bus remember there's a lot more to running a service than simply carrying passengers, and sometimes a lack of toilet facilities can be the greatest inconvenience.


<< click for Newer posts

click for Older Posts >>


click to return to the main page


...or read more in my monthly archives
Jan24  Feb24  Mar24  Apr24  May24
Jan23  Feb23  Mar23  Apr23  May23  Jun23  Jul23  Aug23  Sep23  Oct23  Nov23  Dec23
Jan22  Feb22  Mar22  Apr22  May22  Jun22  Jul22  Aug22  Sep22  Oct22  Nov22  Dec22
Jan21  Feb21  Mar21  Apr21  May21  Jun21  Jul21  Aug21  Sep21  Oct21  Nov21  Dec21
Jan20  Feb20  Mar20  Apr20  May20  Jun20  Jul20  Aug20  Sep20  Oct20  Nov20  Dec20
Jan19  Feb19  Mar19  Apr19  May19  Jun19  Jul19  Aug19  Sep19  Oct19  Nov19  Dec19
Jan18  Feb18  Mar18  Apr18  May18  Jun18  Jul18  Aug18  Sep18  Oct18  Nov18  Dec18
Jan17  Feb17  Mar17  Apr17  May17  Jun17  Jul17  Aug17  Sep17  Oct17  Nov17  Dec17
Jan16  Feb16  Mar16  Apr16  May16  Jun16  Jul16  Aug16  Sep16  Oct16  Nov16  Dec16
Jan15  Feb15  Mar15  Apr15  May15  Jun15  Jul15  Aug15  Sep15  Oct15  Nov15  Dec15
Jan14  Feb14  Mar14  Apr14  May14  Jun14  Jul14  Aug14  Sep14  Oct14  Nov14  Dec14
Jan13  Feb13  Mar13  Apr13  May13  Jun13  Jul13  Aug13  Sep13  Oct13  Nov13  Dec13
Jan12  Feb12  Mar12  Apr12  May12  Jun12  Jul12  Aug12  Sep12  Oct12  Nov12  Dec12
Jan11  Feb11  Mar11  Apr11  May11  Jun11  Jul11  Aug11  Sep11  Oct11  Nov11  Dec11
Jan10  Feb10  Mar10  Apr10  May10  Jun10  Jul10  Aug10  Sep10  Oct10  Nov10  Dec10 
Jan09  Feb09  Mar09  Apr09  May09  Jun09  Jul09  Aug09  Sep09  Oct09  Nov09  Dec09
Jan08  Feb08  Mar08  Apr08  May08  Jun08  Jul08  Aug08  Sep08  Oct08  Nov08  Dec08
Jan07  Feb07  Mar07  Apr07  May07  Jun07  Jul07  Aug07  Sep07  Oct07  Nov07  Dec07
Jan06  Feb06  Mar06  Apr06  May06  Jun06  Jul06  Aug06  Sep06  Oct06  Nov06  Dec06
Jan05  Feb05  Mar05  Apr05  May05  Jun05  Jul05  Aug05  Sep05  Oct05  Nov05  Dec05
Jan04  Feb04  Mar04  Apr04  May04  Jun04  Jul04  Aug04  Sep04  Oct04  Nov04  Dec04
Jan03  Feb03  Mar03  Apr03  May03  Jun03  Jul03  Aug03  Sep03  Oct03  Nov03  Dec03
 Jan02  Feb02  Mar02  Apr02  May02  Jun02  Jul02 Aug02  Sep02  Oct02  Nov02  Dec02 

jack of diamonds
Life viewed from London E3

» email me
» follow me on twitter
» follow the blog on Twitter
» follow the blog on RSS

» my flickr photostream

twenty blogs
our bow
arseblog
ian visits
londonist
broken tv
blue witch
on london
the great wen
edith's streets
spitalfields life
linkmachinego
round the island
wanstead meteo
christopher fowler
the greenwich wire
bus and train user
ruth's coastal walk
round the rails we go
london reconnections
from the murky depths

quick reference features
Things to do in Outer London
Things to do outside London
London's waymarked walks
Inner London toilet map
20 years of blog series
The DG Tour of Britain
London's most...

read the archive
May24
Apr24  Mar24  Feb24  Jan24
Dec23  Nov23  Oct23  Sep23
Aug23  Jul23  Jun23  May23
Apr23  Mar23  Feb23  Jan23
Dec22  Nov22  Oct22  Sep22
Aug22  Jul22  Jun22  May22
Apr22  Mar22  Feb22  Jan22
Dec21  Nov21  Oct21  Sep21
Aug21  Jul21  Jun21  May21
Apr21  Mar21  Feb21  Jan21
Dec20  Nov20  Oct20  Sep20
Aug20  Jul20  Jun20  May20
Apr20  Mar20  Feb20  Jan20
Dec19  Nov19  Oct19  Sep19
Aug19  Jul19  Jun19  May19
Apr19  Mar19  Feb19  Jan19
Dec18  Nov18  Oct18  Sep18
Aug18  Jul18  Jun18  May18
Apr18  Mar18  Feb18  Jan18
Dec17  Nov17  Oct17  Sep17
Aug17  Jul17  Jun17  May17
Apr17  Mar17  Feb17  Jan17
Dec16  Nov16  Oct16  Sep16
Aug16  Jul16  Jun16  May16
Apr16  Mar16  Feb16  Jan16
Dec15  Nov15  Oct15  Sep15
Aug15  Jul15  Jun15  May15
Apr15  Mar15  Feb15  Jan15
Dec14  Nov14  Oct14  Sep14
Aug14  Jul14  Jun14  May14
Apr14  Mar14  Feb14  Jan14
Dec13  Nov13  Oct13  Sep13
Aug13  Jul13  Jun13  May13
Apr13  Mar13  Feb13  Jan13
Dec12  Nov12  Oct12  Sep12
Aug12  Jul12  Jun12  May12
Apr12  Mar12  Feb12  Jan12
Dec11  Nov11  Oct11  Sep11
Aug11  Jul11  Jun11  May11
Apr11  Mar11  Feb11  Jan11
Dec10  Nov10  Oct10  Sep10
Aug10  Jul10  Jun10  May10
Apr10  Mar10  Feb10  Jan10
Dec09  Nov09  Oct09  Sep09
Aug09  Jul09  Jun09  May09
Apr09  Mar09  Feb09  Jan09
Dec08  Nov08  Oct08  Sep08
Aug08  Jul08  Jun08  May08
Apr08  Mar08  Feb08  Jan08
Dec07  Nov07  Oct07  Sep07
Aug07  Jul07  Jun07  May07
Apr07  Mar07  Feb07  Jan07
Dec06  Nov06  Oct06  Sep06
Aug06  Jul06  Jun06  May06
Apr06  Mar06  Feb06  Jan06
Dec05  Nov05  Oct05  Sep05
Aug05  Jul05  Jun05  May05
Apr05  Mar05  Feb05  Jan05
Dec04  Nov04  Oct04  Sep04
Aug04  Jul04  Jun04  May04
Apr04  Mar04  Feb04  Jan04
Dec03  Nov03  Oct03  Sep03
Aug03  Jul03  Jun03  May03
Apr03  Mar03  Feb03  Jan03
Dec02  Nov02  Oct02  Sep02
back to main page

the diamond geezer index
2023 2022
2021 2020 2019 2018 2017
2016 2015 2014 2013 2012
2011 2010 2009 2008 2007
2006 2005 2004 2003 2002

my special London features
a-z of london museums
E3 - local history month
greenwich meridian (N)
greenwich meridian (S)
the real eastenders
london's lost rivers
olympic park 2007
great british roads
oranges & lemons
random boroughs
bow road station
high street 2012
river westbourne
trafalgar square
capital numbers
east london line
lea valley walk
olympics 2005
regent's canal
square routes
silver jubilee
unlost rivers
cube routes
Herbert Dip
metro-land
capital ring
river fleet
piccadilly
bakerloo

ten of my favourite posts
the seven ages of blog
my new Z470xi mobile
five equations of blog
the dome of doom
chemical attraction
quality & risk
london 2102
single life
boredom
april fool

ten sets of lovely photos
my "most interesting" photos
london 2012 olympic zone
harris and the hebrides
betjeman's metro-land
marking the meridian
tracing the river fleet
london's lost rivers
inside the gherkin
seven sisters
iceland

just surfed in?
here's where to find...
diamond geezers
flash mob #1  #2  #3  #4
ben schott's miscellany
london underground
watch with mother
cigarette warnings
digital time delay
wheelie suitcases
war of the worlds
transit of venus
top of the pops
old buckenham
ladybird books
acorn antiques
digital watches
outer hebrides
olympics 2012
school dinners
pet shop boys
west wycombe
bletchley park
george orwell
big breakfast
clapton pond
san francisco
thunderbirds
routemaster
children's tv
east enders
trunk roads
amsterdam
little britain
credit cards
jury service
big brother
jubilee line
number 1s
titan arum
typewriters
doctor who
coronation
comments
blue peter
matchgirls
hurricanes
buzzwords
brookside
monopoly
peter pan
starbucks
feng shui
leap year
manbags
bbc three
vision on
piccadilly
meridian
concorde
wembley
islington
ID cards
bedtime
freeview
beckton
blogads
eclipses
letraset
arsenal
sitcoms
gherkin
calories
everest
muffins
sudoku
camilla
london
ceefax
robbie
becks
dome
BBC2
paris
lotto
118
itv