Cabbies raise stink over filthy toilet trailer
Taxi firm says drivers need to keep place tidy
It just might be the city’s worst bathroom.
Cab drivers who service Calgary International Airport are raising a stink about fetid toilets located at a nearby taxi “bullpen” just north of the terminal.
Cars queue up for hours waiting to pick up passengers. The only available washroom facility is a temporary trailer used by hundreds of cabbies around the clock, but drivers who rely on the portable potties say they are foul-smelling and frequently filthy.
“This is an everlasting issue for us. Sometimes there is no soap or toilet paper. We are employees — we are human beings, not animals,” said Rupinder Gill, president of the Calgary Cab Drivers Society.
Associated Cab — one of the city’s largest taxi firms — has the sole right to cover airport pickups.
Gill said he has approached the company many times and also asked the Calgary Airport Authority to supply cabbies with a more hygienic facility.
“We just want our grievances to be addressed,” Gill said.
The airport has supplied the drivers with a permanent building that contains a table, vending machines, a prayer room and, until recently, toilets and sinks.
But after a water leak, the structure is currently under construction. Drivers say the bathrooms were never kept particularly clean but the situation is now intolerable.
“It’s worse than the third world. A dog would run away,” said one man.
Indeed, a visit to the site Thursday morning found toilets rimmed with feces and overflowing urinals. On warm days, cabbies say the stench wafts into the adjacent building where they eat their lunch and play cards while waiting for a fare.
Airport spokeswoman Jody Moseley said the temporary toilets were provided to the taxi company with the understanding they would handle maintenance.
“We purchased the best portable units out there and it is up to Associated to ensure they are kept up,” she said.
According to the taxi firm, cleaners visit the washrooms at least five times a week and there are always sufficient towels and soap on hand.
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“Part of the problem is the drivers need to help, not with cleaning but tidiness. There needs to be some personal ownership of the space,” said Associated Cab general manager Jeff Garland.
Garland said he’s received complaints from drivers about people washing their feet in the sinks, prompting the company to put up signs asking the men to stop.
“I’m constantly picking up after these guys myself. I go there in the morning and I have to pick garbage off the floor,” he said.
Nevertheless, Garland said he may approach the airport authority to see if they are willing to pay for a cleaner to visit the bullpen washrooms more frequently.
He typically submits a cleaning bill to them every month.
“I’ll have to talk to the airport to see how much they are willing to spend. It’s a cost issue,” he said.