Huddersfield bus drivers’ relieved after right to spend a penny restored

Nov 27 2010 by Nick Lavigueur, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

BUS drivers in Huddersfield have finally won the right to spend a penny.

They have been given their own portable loo after they were banned from nipping to the bus station toilet.

Drivers were barred from taking toilet breaks while parked in the bays at the Upperhead Row station last February.

They had to use the toilets at the station as many public conveniences around the town were shut down.

The West Yorkshire-wide rule had been in force for years, but it is thought it was widely ignored.

But bus chiefs at Metro clamped down on drivers leaving buses unattended after an elderly passenger was killed at Leeds bus station.

It is thought the fatality was allegedly caused after a driver left a bus unattended to go to the toilet, causing the station doors to remain open, allowing the passenger to wander into the yard.

The ban meant drivers had to park their buses at the back of the station, collect all their fares and property, put on a high-visibility jacket and then walk around the station to the toilet.

But now, after months of campaigning, a compromise has been reached after Metro installed a portable toilet on the back wall of the station.