Being a private hire driver comes with many advantages but like anything in life, it is not perfect.
Out of a long list of things that will annoy you throughout your day, you might be surprised to hear that the biggest challenge for me is not the constant traffic, or the rude customer, or even the long hours. It is in fact, the inability to just pop to the toilet when it’s time to go.
It’s not something you ever consider when you first enter the industry but you’ll soon realise what a challenge it can be.
Driving around with a full bladder is super uncomfortable which is made worse by the seat belt pressuring your lower abdomen.
Why Is It So Difficult To Go To The Toilet As A Private Hire Driver?
On a busy night driving for Uber, you can easily go 3-4 hours with continuous requests for jobs. Before you have even dropped off the passenger, you are being given the next job so as you drop of one passenger you are then driving straight to the next.
Rideshare can be a game of feast or famine and when it’s time to feast you naturally want to take advantage of as many trip requests as possible.
During every job you’re hoping to be able to get the opportunity to relieve yourself but it never comes.
In all honesty this is more than an excuse than a problem. We are all in this to earn money so we endure the uncomfortable feeling of our bladder getting ready to explode in fear of missing out on the next job. In reality, you can just turn off the app, log off or stop new requests.
The real problem lies in the fact that there never seems to be an accessible toilet when you desperately need it. Even if you logged off your app and went hunting for the closest toilet you would have a real struggle finding one, or even harder, finding one with somewhere to park.
Where can you find public toilets
Supermarkets/Shops
If you happen to be driving passed a supermarket, that would be a great time to make a pit stop, especially as you will have somewhere to comfortably park.
There is also The Community Toilet Scheme which is an initiative where local business work with boroughs to provide toilet accessibility. Just keep a lookout for ‘Community Toilet’ signs.
Train Stations/Airports
Airports are an obvious one if your waiting to pick up a passenger but many local train stations have toilet facilities also
You can find a full list of stations with toilet facilities in each borough here.
A resource worth checking out is The Great British Public Toilet Map but if your on the go there are many apps available which will show the closest available toilet to you. It is definitely worth having one downloaded on your phone to get you out of a sticky situation.
Is Holding In Your Wee Dangerous?
For healthy adults, holding in your wee now and then can be very uncomfortable, but it will not cause any problems.
Make sure you continued to stay hydrated by drinking loads of water throughout the day to stay alert. Just take every opportunity in a quiet period to go to the toilet when the opportunity presents it self so your fully prepared for the mad rush when it comes.
