pay toilets

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verte76

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They have pay toilets in Turkey. You have to pay before you can go into the washroom. This is common in developing countries, but it's illegal in the United States and most of the developed world. That was a culture shock. I remember Bono complaining about pay toilets in one of the countries he was in with Paul O'Neill. He was really pissed off. I don't suppose the U.N. or any other international body has anything to say about this, but it's one thing about Turkey that didn't exactly impress me.
 
I hate having to pay for toilets..they do it in harrods in london and its completely disgusting that they make their customers do that. I suppose in developing countries though it is a way of making money through tourists. Doesnt seem too fair on the local people though.
 
I could swear I've seen a few pay toilets in the states? In questionable areas with a slot for a quarter or maybe it's a token :slant:

Typically they'd be so nasty you'd rather hold it anyways.
 
Developing countries?

These things are all over Paris, for heaven's sake.

It's common in Europe. Sometimes you even have to pay for the toilet paper.
 
nbcrusader said:
I remember seeing pay toilets in France back in '89. Is it really illegal everywhere?
Click to expand...

It's not. I've seen them in the U.S., but they are quite rare.

Melon
 
There used to be a couple in Boston close to the Imax theater. I was taken aback a little, but then I paid up!
 
Bluer White said:
There used to be a couple in Boston close to the Imax theater. I was taken aback a little, but then I paid up!
Click to expand...

I remember one near Government Center...heh.

I used to be really outraged by the idea, until I lived in a city like Boston. Walking around everywhere makes you realize how few places there are to actually use one.

Melon
 
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The only pay toilet I have ever encountered is the "Superloo" in Taupo, New Zealand, and you pay for a reason: because it's a damn nice toilet. It's almost a tourist attraction.

So if there's a small charge, like 20c or 50c, for a toilet because it's especially nice, then I can understand that. But as far as ordinary public toilets go, I think it would be more reasonable to pay someone for using the filthy place!
 
Never seen a pay toilet. Where we were in Africa, there was never any TP. This one was free, but this is what we got if we were lucky, a "toilet" that you squat over and then flush. Most were pits with a teeny tiny hole. :huh:

toilet.JPG
 
Thank you for taking on this important issue.

Yes, pay toilets are legal in the US.

San Francisco had a big problem with its thousands of homeless citizens pissing in the streets. So, the SF Board of Supervisors voted to install 20 pay-for bogs from France (JC Decaux), each of which cost the equivalent of Mali's annual budget.

These things are nice enough to sleep in.... which the homeless started doing. So now, I think something happens after a certain amount of time with the door locked, something like an alarm bell or a squirt of water.

I don't know how much they cost to use, I've never tried one. I usually wait until I get to Oakland and piss in the streets over there.
 
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A decade ago I remembered returning back to Macao for a little trip and we saw pay toilets over there. The structure looks about the same as how Livluv's pic is, except it was much cleaner... and it was kind of cheap (1 Pataca, the currency there... like a dollar coin, only cheaper when compared to the American dollar. $1 = 7 dollars Macao).

I think it's good that there are pay toilets. I mean, if it was free, everyone could just go and frak around in it, getting it all dirty and who has to take care of it-- the city. If we were forced to pay to use the toilet, perhaps we wouldn't be so quick to vandalize the walls or to plug up the toilets and waste all the TP.

In regards to locality, I believe that NYC was toying with the idea of pay-per-use restrooms... but I haven't heard anything currently of it.
 
nbcrusader said:


Do you pay per square?
Click to expand...

Actually, yes! There was an old woman in a restroom in Vienna back in the early 90s and I remember my Mom handing her some change and she gave us each 2 squares of brown paper.
 
Come to think of it, I remember the pay toilets in Paris. Some pay toilets are stick-in-the-coin, and some, as in the case of Paris, have a valet. I have a virus with high fever and it's wreaking havoc with my brain, as if being autistic isn't enough.
 
anitram said:
Actually, yes! There was an old woman in a restroom in Vienna back in the early 90s and I remember my Mom handing her some change and she gave us each 2 squares of brown paper.
Click to expand...


Two squares of brown paper???

I don't mean to be too graphic, but how much crap will two squares of brown paper wipe off?

I should move to Vienna and scalp Charmin.

I'm just glad I've never had to work in a public restroom selling little squares of toilet paper, what a shitty job.
 
I've never encountered pay toilets in the US, anywhere. Not to say that maybe there aren't some, somewhere. So, I was surprised when I arrived at Waverly Station in Edinburgh, and encountered the "barrier gate" that only 20 p could overcome. It was such a foreign concept to me, that I waited till I got to my B&B. I think "pay to go" is a bad idea, violative of basic human body functions-never mind rights. You get a pregnant woman or a sick person in need of an immediate facility, well, if they can't make it in quickly enough....Damn-that was a beautifully polished train station floor.
 
I've seen pay toilets in several countries, most recently South Korea where they had this "automatic toilet"--slightly larger than a porta potty. You put your coin in the slot, the door snaps open, you go in and you've got a predetermined amount of time, which if you want more, you have to insert more money (from the inside). When time's up (or you're finished, whichever comes first) the door snaps open. Then the door closes, and apparently the entire booth is sprayed with water/cleaner or whatever. It's "self-cleaning".

I didn't use it, but my wife did, and I guess the whole thing was wet because of previous "cleanings." Sounded kinda gross to me.

In other countries the toilet is free, but you pay for the TP.
 
I don't remember pay toilets in the UK, and I've been there twice. Or maybe it's just my selective memory acting up again. :wink:
 
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