ATU Comics - The Right to Pee

I’m SCOOP ANDERSON of eye witness news. we’ve exposed a bus driver...

...caught on camera and on the clock...

...stopping for a very public pit stop on the side of the road!

1

next day in the drivers’ breakroom...

the news really did a number on you last night.

yeah, that sucked.

well, we’ve all got a bathroom break horror story to tell.

I know. Eye Witness News only got half the story. They don’t know the problems we have finding the time or places to use the bathroom.

2

They caught me on a bad day. I take diuretics for my blood pressure. sometimes the need to pee is urgent.

excuse me folks, but I’VE GOT TO USE THE BATHROOM.

I’M GONNA BE LATE FOR WORK SO YOU CAN GET A CUP OF COFFEE?

I was hours without a bathroom break, I’m about to burst.

3

CAN I GET A SMALL CUP OF COFFEE AND THE KEY TO THE RESTROOM?

it’s in use. you’ll have to wait.

4

it’s about time!

I’m gonna miss my transfer!

5

at the end of my route there aren’t any public restrooms. the bus was empty so I ran for a convenient tree.

I want you to meet Linda Grant, one of our union reps.

Tell her what happened to you.

Nice to meet you. I was at the end of my route and there aren’t any gas stations or coffee shops with a bathroom. The bus was empty, so I found a nearby tree.

6

Hey Jon, you need to talk to a union rep to tell her what really happened.

Great to meet you Jon.

That’s where the surveillance camera busted me. But the news didn’t tell the whole story.

at least you had a tree. I remember being a young trainee in new york city.

hey rookie, turn down the next street and pull over. I’ve gotta take a pee.

that’s one of the things you’ll have to learn - where all the piss stops are.

7

I’ll talk to the Union President and we can discuss it at our Union meeting.

for a while there I gave up drinking anything at work. the doctor said dehydration caused my urinary tract infection.

at the next union meeting...

we all happened last week. else have

I almost got into an accident once when I had to pee really badly.

8

saw what to jon on tv does anyone a complaint?

my husband is a station agent and they have bathroom break problems too!

rail operators don’t have any trees to use in a subway tunnel.

our atu factsheet says that the lack of bathroom breaks can be fatal.

let’s not forget, a member of local 757 was crushed by her own bus as she ran to the restroom!

I heard that dutch bus drivers protested by towing porta potties behind their busses.

the adult diapers is a great idea. let’s organize a demonstration with them!

hey, maybe we should protest by wearing adult diapers outside our pants!

later at the union office... can I speak with scoop Anderson?

9

Scoop, this is the president of the ATU Local. Your story about our bus driver having to urinate outside didn’t tell the full story of this problem of bathroom breaks for bus drivers.

A recent survey of our bus drivers found 60% don’t have access to a clean bathroom at the end of their route.

And 82% say they try to ‘hold it in’ to deal with the lack of access to a bathroom.

And studies show that driving with an extreme urge to go to the bathroom is like being awake for 24 hours or having a blood alcohol level of 0.05%.

That sounds dangerous for both the driver and the riders.

Report on our upcoming demonstration and you’ll get the full “scoop.”

This is Scoop Anderson of Eye Witness News. My apologies for ignoring the other side of the problem of bathroom breaks for bus drivers.

10

Wow, I didn’t realize that was the case.