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Comment by testfoobar | Hacker News Reader

I can't imagine this is limited to Amazon. Bathroom access became impaired with fast food/restaurants and municipalities closing off bathrooms to the public.

My neighborhood park hasn't had a working bathroom or water fountains since last year.

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It isn't limited to Amazon, and it isn't a side-effect of the pandemic. I work for UPS and even before the pandemic most drivers used a bottle or cup on a regular basis, especially if you're in a rural area. In denser areas you can use Port-a-Johns at construction sites or restrooms at businesses. Your commercial customers will likely allow you to use their restroom even if it is closed to the public. I've never heard of someone defecating in the vehicle. Leaving your bottles in the vehicle is frowned upon, but it happens.

>especially if you're in a rural area

In a rural area wouldn't it be more convenient to just pee roadside?

After dark, yes, go anywhere. During the day when people can potentially see you that would be a bad idea. If you can use the vehicle to block line of sight then that could also work.

Right up until a bored small town cop cites you for public urination.

Because... women are never drivers?

They can also go on the side of the road, with the added hassle of disposing of paper. Where do you think they use the bathroom when hiking or camping? And this is why I included cups in my original comment. They can't use bottles as easily on account of the narrow nature, so a cup with a larger mouth is preferred.

Reminds me of a couple of years ago when Starbucks made a big public relations splash saying that it would no longer require people to buy something in order to use its restrooms, or to charge their devices.

Where I live, a week later, all of the Starbucks bathrooms that were previously wide open suddenly had locks on them, and the public electrical outlets were covered with metal plates.

Obviously it isn't but Amazon is the third largest private employer in the world and it make sense making sure they offer reasonable working conditions for their employees.

Yes. Urinating is actually more difficult in today's world than it was in the middle ages.

Earlier this month there was an interesting op-ed in the New York Times lobbying for more public restrooms:

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/06/opinion/sunday/public-toi...

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