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TOILET ACCESS AND RANK AT RISK: LTDA issues stark warning to black cab drivers over behaviour at London hotel
- Perry Richardson
- 1 hour ago
- 2 min read
London taxi drivers have been urged to treat hotel facilities with greater respect after concerns were raised over alleged behaviour by some cabbies using toilets provided as a courtesy.
Writing in the London Taxi Drivers’ Association’s TAXI newspaper, LTDA Executive S.O. Paul Kirby said the issue had arisen at a popular Kensington hotel, where drivers are currently able to use toilet facilities.
Kirby said complaints related to the condition in which some drivers were allegedly leaving the hotel forecourt. He wrote that there had been “the disgusting act of drivers emptying bottles of ‘liquid’ on the hotel forecourt rank”.
He described the behaviour as “totally unacceptable” and warned that continued incidents could threaten an amenity used by the wider taxi trade.
Kirby said: “If this vile act continues, we are in danger of losing the rank completely.”
The warning raises a wider issue for London’s black cab trade. Access to toilets during working shifts remains important for drivers who can spend long periods on the road, particularly where public facilities are limited or unavailable overnight.
Hotels can provide useful facilities for taxi drivers serving their ranks, but access is generally dependent on maintaining a workable relationship between drivers and hotel management. Any withdrawal of facilities could therefore affect the vast majority of drivers who have complied with the arrangements as well as those responsible for any inappropriate behaviour.
Kirby said there were “many decent hotels in London” which allow taxi drivers to use their toilets, although some do not. He urged drivers to be respectful when entering and leaving hotels and, importantly, to leave facilities “clean and tidy”.
The warning comes as the taxi industry continues to place importance on maintaining effective hotel ranks across central London. Hotel work remains a significant source of street-hail business, particularly at premium venues where guests frequently require taxis for luggage, accessibility requirements and onward travel.
