When ya’ gotta’ go, ya’ gotta’ go. But Uber and Lyft drivers, often, don't have the luxury of choosing when or where to go. Some drivers complain the port-a-potties in the staging area at McCarran Airport are so revolting they won't go anywhere near them.
"It's pretty disgusting. It's not sanitary," said Diamond Rose, a driver. "I'm trying not to touch anything."
Rose said the conditions can get so unsanitary, she practically has to climb the walls to avoid accidentally brushing against anything. "I'm like spider-woman in there,” Rose said as she laughed.
Toilet paper litters the loos, often overflowing with filth. The stench can be abominable. “Sometimes I can smell them when I'm over 100 feet away," said a driver who wanted to remain anonymous. “It is pretty awful."
That driver complained there's no running water or hand-washing stations. "There's never hand sanitizer. The first day it's there and then after that it's gone."
The lack of a place to cleanse hands could mean some drivers could be picking up luggage with dirty hands.
"That's eye opening," said Jennifer Bustamante, a regular passenger. Bustamante is now concerned about who touches her bags. “I'll probably put my own bags in now and not let somebody touch them, knowing that."
Robert LaRoche, another driver, said some of his colleagues are just plain inconsiderate. "A lot of the drivers here are disrespectful too. We got a lot of people here who either take the tissue with them or throw in the toilet."
A spokeswoman for McCarran said the Department of Aviation has the restrooms cleaned three times a week. The department is evaluating what else needs to be done to improve conditions. The spokeswoman also said that since Uber and Lyft negotiated for the area, drivers would have to address the matter with the companies.
