Traveling through Croatia by bus you probably noticed one thing – the onboard toilet is always locked.
Imagine this: You’re on a crowded bus just leaving the highway rest stop. You didn’t have to use the restroom while you were there but now you really have to go. You try opening the toilet door, which of course won’t budge. Then you go and ask the driver about the bus onboard toilet and his response is – it doesn’t work.
Time after time, bus after bus, year after year, from elementary school trips to overnight intercity buses – the answer is always the same. But is it the truth though? Do bus onboard toilets not work or is the driver afraid you’ll make a mess which he’ll most likely have to clean up after the ride, extending his working hours even more.
disposal of the onboard toilet waste is near impossible
First of all, there is a limited amount of places where you can empty out the waste. Most countries require you dispose of the onboard toilet waste at specific locations and not just regular sewages, and if you don’t abide by the law, you’re up for a huge fine. Throughout the years driving through Croatia, I am yet to come across upon one of these places. You’re likely to be able to dispose at an auto-camp though, but good luck getting in there with a bus.
FlixBus, which operates a large amount of overnight long-distance routes does have onboard toilets which are functional, no matter where you are in Europe. This makes sense as its mostly large companies working with FlixBus (which, by the way, is not a carrier and has no buses in ownership – something like uber with taxis). Even if you could dispose of the waste in the sewage, this would just be extra work for the bus driver’s day which is already long enough. Only larger companies have cleaning staff, usually all the work is done by the bus drivers.
THE NEXT STOP ISN’T THAT FAR
Europe has a dense population, and with it – a dense road and service station network. Highway rest stops are at most 30 minutes apart when traveling by bus, and while organized tour coaches can technically stop whenever, intercity buses are on strict schedules with rest stops chosen in advance.
In my experience, the breaks are about every 2 hours, whether you’re traveling in an organized tour coach or on an intercity route, and if you’re lucky and ahead of schedule – you might get to use the restroom on a bus terminal if possible. But, just to be safe rather than sorry – always use the restroom before going on a bus ride, and make sure its the first thing you do when the bus driver is making a break on the highway.
Where Do BUS DRIVERs Go To The toilet?
As a kid, I always wondered where does the bus driver do his business, especially when driving distant regional routes to far away villages. When I finally had a few emergencies of the sort myself, I got the answer to my question.
The one and only rule – always carry toilet paper with you, no matter what. You don’t know where you’ll find yourself. This is a bit of an embarassing topic to talk about but we’re all humans here and it can happen to everybody. I’ve had it happen with a busload of passengers a few times. If I was lucky, I’d swerve onto the sidewalk, switch on the hazard lights and run into the nearest restaurant and leave them a tip for it. When I was less lucky, I did it in the woods, far away from anyone to see me. This is when I first started to appreciate the dense bushlands and macchia of the Croatian coast.
When I was a few years younger, it’d probably be unthinkable to me. But as you get older (I’m 25 hahaha) you just have to realise your wellbeing as the bus driver should be the ultimate priority. If you’re not sure, take a break, you’ll do yourself and your passengers a favour.
There you go, I hope I helped you answering this millenia-old question. You also learned a few things about how buses in Croatia operate. See you soon!
WHAT ABOUT YOU?
Have you ever run into any similar situations when you really had to use the restroom but you had to hold it in for a while? What about the highway restrooms, do you use only the ones at the gas station or are you brave enough to use the portable ones? Are buses in your country any different and did you actually get to use an onboard toilet? Comment below and share your experiences!
Pingback: 11 Things Every Bus Driver MUST HAVE - Thrive 2 Drive