Drivers in Kerala’s Kochi demand well-maintained washrooms, common resting spaces at hotels, resorts

The need for adequate number of well-maintained washrooms, common resting spaces, and dormitories for drivers of cars, buses, and other vehicles that ferry guests to hotels and resorts, is increasingly being raised in different tourism forums.

The matter is yet again in the spotlight, following a protest by a few tourist taxi car drivers at Crowne Plaza here on Friday (July 24, 2026), seeking adequate restroom facilities. A few drivers, in their bath towel and T-shirts and shorts staged a protest outside the hotel lobby.

However, hotel management sources termed the protest as a case of “clogged drain in the washroom for vehicle crew”, which, according to them, was “rectified the same day”. Alternatively, the drivers had the option of using staff washrooms, they claimed.

Citing the need for adequate number of washrooms and resting space for drivers who need rest after long trips, Shiyas S., a representative of Online Taxi Drivers’ Union (OTDU), said drivers had been complaining about the lack of basic infrastructure for them at innumerable hotels in the State. “In one such incident in Munnar, drivers had to force open a restroom at a hotel, after the management refused to unlock it for them. Hospitality stakeholders often fail to remember that using washrooms, when required, is a basic human need. Our union has been pressurising the Tourism and Transport departments to display in hotels government orders on the need to provide such infrastructure for drivers, who often ferry tourists for days together to various destinations,” he added.

Incidentally, the drivers’ protest came a day after travel operators from West Asia sought such infrastructure at all hotels and resorts in Kerala, at a meeting attended by, among others, Minister for Tourism P.C. Vishnunadh. Highlighting the plight of drivers who often had to sleep in their vehicles overnight, speakers here had expressed concern at the state of affairs in many luxury and other hotels.

Citing the need for adequate number of washrooms and resting space for drivers, Pramod A., who owns and drives a taxi car, said drivers are often left to fend for themselves, and this sometimes leads to disputes with hotel staff over the use of washrooms.