Challenges
A natural need, several times a day. And yet overlooked.
Drinking and going to the toilet: a basic physiological need, with an immediate effect on concentration, physical health and mental health. Yet it rarely counts in the decisions that shape a line, a terminus or a round.
The problem is not how often the need arises. It is how intense the problem is when it does.
Behind the wheel
Holding on or drinking less: two reflexes, the same drop in alertness.
Without a toilet in the right place, only two options remain. Both impair the driver’s attention.
Option 1: holding on
Attention and working memory, measured in the lab
A pressing urge
behind the wheel
≈
0.5 g/L
of alcohol in the blood
≈
24 h
without sleep
With a pressing urge, the measured drop in attention is comparable to that seen with 0.5 g of alcohol per litre of blood, or after 24 hours without sleep.
Lewis et al., Neurourology and Urodynamics, 2011. Laboratory study in healthy adults.
Option 2: drinking less
+115%
more driving errors
On a simulator, mildly dehydrated drivers (about 1% of body weight) made 101 errors in 2 hours, compared with 47 when properly hydrated.
Watson et al., Loughborough University, Physiology & Behavior, 2015.
2%
less water in the body
Beyond a water loss of 2% of body weight, dehydration clearly impairs the functions a driver needs:
- ↓ Attention
- ↓ Executive functions
- ↓ Coordination
Wittbrodt and Millard-Stafford, Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 2018: meta-analysis of 33 studies.
In the company
Team health drives company performance.
Working conditions show up in HR indicators: absences, departures, recruitment.
10.4%
absenteeism
In French urban transport in 2024, up from 7.4% in 2015. Drivers account for 77% of days of absence. The sector links this rise to quality of working life issues.
UTPF, Bilan social Transports urbains 2024, 2025 edition.
30%
of departures are resignations
In 2024, resignation became the leading reason for leaving French urban transport for the first time. The sector sees it as a possible sign of strain over working conditions.
UTPF, Bilan social Transports urbains 2024, 2025 edition.
1 in 3
One in three women transport workers in Europe is not satisfied with the sanitary conditions at her workplace. A key issue for attracting women drivers, who still make up only 17.8% of urban transport drivers in France.
ETF, survey of 2,770 women transport workers, 2019; UTPF, 2024.
Why it is urgent
A basic need, too often left out of decisions.
A basic need
Physiological, several times a day, for everyone. You cannot choose it, and you cannot put it off without consequences.
An immediate effect
On concentration, physical health and mental health, at the very moment the need arises.
A question of dignity
Being able to go to the toilet during a shift is first and foremost a question of human dignity.
It is too often forgotten when decisions are made. Let’s anticipate the need: find the solution before creating the problem.
JUST WC steps in
Before, during or after a report.
JUST WC creates and runs a network of partner venues wherever your teams need them, for every mobility profession.
- Public transport
- Logistics
- Mobile field teams
Before
From the design stage
Tender, new line, new terminus, new round: we identify the best places to take a break and build them into the route from the start.
During
Facing the emergency
The problem is known and a solution is needed now: we find, sign up and open partner venues near your termini and along your rounds.
After a report
When the alert is raised
A works council report, a complaint, an incident: we step in as a priority at the terminus or on the round concerned.
Let’s anticipate the need.
Let’s find the solution before creating the problem. Let’s talk about your termini and rounds in 30 minutes.
Sources
- Lewis M. S., Snyder P. J. et al., “The effect of acute increase in urge to void on cognitive function in healthy adults”, Neurourology and Urodynamics, 2011.
- Watson P. et al., “Mild hypohydration increases the frequency of driver errors during a prolonged, monotonous driving task”, Physiology & Behavior, 2015.
- Wittbrodt M. T., Millard-Stafford M., “Dehydration Impairs Cognitive Performance: A Meta-analysis”, Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 2018.
- UTPF, Bilan social Transports urbains 2024, 2025 edition.
- European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF), survey of 2,770 women transport workers, 2019, results published in 2020.