Charging for public toilets...

I get why it’s like this. I was at a festival where the portaloos were generously filled with half a dozen rolls on a shelf. Witnessed a women leave one loo with everything she could carry all for herself.

Back when I was at Uni, the primary supplier of toilet roll for many students was McDonalds.

I might be wrong but I think some places get reduced rates if they offer their loos to the public.

Yes, everywhere in France.

binners
Full Member
Ladies and gentlemen…. the McWee….

Combined with nicking their copy of the Guardian.
Happy days.

Technicaly illegal? possibly, but I’m not going to piss in my car, am I.

Do you not have a 'special' nalgene bottle

Obviously only useful if with a car, but an old directeur sportif trick (because they had to pull over, pee and rapidly get back to the convoy - no time for messing around walking behind a bush) is to open both doors on the offside (blocking view of you behind and up the road) standing in between them (facing out....) and pissing from there

Lack of toilets is a disgrace. We're animals.... If you need to go, you need to go...... Holding it in to bursting and risking your health is irresponsible.

Sunny Richmond on Thames has a scheme for shops etc to provide public loos. They have stickers in their windows.

A lot of places, like train stations don’t charge enough for the use of their loos.
I don’t think the 30p has kept in line with inflation, or a cup of coffee.
I don’t mind paying at least a quid to use a loo if they keep on top of the hygiene.

Simply not enough paying loos in city centres.
Maybe there’s scope for privately run loos.

‘Urgent’ sounds like a catchy trade name.

Charging for public toilets - Yes I've had to make a fairly frantic gallop for the nearest one myself on more than one occasion

You should be able to do it contactless, with a handy email address if there are any problems.

What, like car parks? Where you have to download an app to pay, then find there’s virtually no network connection, (and when the networks shut off 3G, there will be none) or you’ve already got an app, but it’s a different one, or you then find you’ve got to spend ages having to tap in all your personal information, bank card details, car registration, how long you’re there for, which happened to me a couple of weeks ago in Bourton-on-the-Water! Many places now at least have a QRCode system which is pretty quick.
Which brings me to the public loo, and the Japanese lass I was with was desperate for the loo, but she had none of the right change, and neither did I, because, who does, these days. Fortunately, it does have a contactless system, so I just used my phone for her to get in, but as a massively tourist oriented village, expecting visitors to carry all of the right money, and have a bank card that would be acceptable is a big ask.

Oh, and exactly how long are you expecting an email response to take, especially on a weekend? I mean, seriously? Christ on a pogo stick, you’d be lucky to get a response from a council within a couple of days! Or are you actually taking the piss?

Came across a couple in the North York Moors area wanting 40p.
Made this mistake of going to Scarborough where they charged this. Not needed , the whole town surficed.

Mrs SSS and I were in Waverley Market – Edinburgh –

They’ve been pay as you go for as long as I can remember. At least you can still use them! Edinburgh council has sold the remainder off to be converted to high-end restaurants and bars!

Also, shouldn’t council tax pay for councilly things?

For that you need to fund councils properly…

I’ve worked for local authorities for the last 14 years, the cuts have been serious (I saw a 2/3rds cut in capital property budget one year!).

We are so under funded that all we can do is look to provide the minimum requirement under law. Utility costs and rising wages taking big chunks out of what is left after the cuts. Things like Education is usually ring-fenced (and mostly people, so wages), there’s nothing discretionary left these days!

And it’s going to get a lot lot worse, my local authority have identified a £43 million shortfall this year (and a total of ~£108 million over the the next 4 iirc). Thems some serious cuts coming down the line…

Welcome to Austerity Britain!

I always believed the reason public loos were (usually) free of charge was to minimise people - let’s be honest, men - from peeing wherever they like. If urinating in the street is bad then an alternative should be provided.

When I lived in Thailand I regularly saw sign saying something like:

Toilet.
Small Willy 5b
big Willy 10b.

I chose to pay the lower price.

Like a Greek god?

If councils want to avoid vandalisation of their toilets and drug-taking, why not staff them.

Drug-taking can also me reduced by the use of specific lighting which makes it impossible to see veins.

This is a sign of a much bigger problem. -
- Increasing costs.
- Reluctance to pay tax when people incorrectly perceive they don’t benefit from public services.
- Increased commercialisation of public service.
- Subsidising poor wages for employers rather than reflecting employers actually paying a living wage.
- Addiction being treated as a crime rather than an illness.
- I could go on….

I hate the ‘I’m alright Jack’, ‘Self-made myth’ and ‘socialism is communism’ bullshit.