Is evading the lavatory entry fee seen as harshly as evading a fare?

[Mag_seven]

I don't know why certain people are enraged about having to pay to use a public toilet. Having to pay has been a feature for years, hence the expression "spend a penny".

 

[Bletchleyite]

I don't know why certain people are enraged about having to pay to use a public toilet. Having to pay has been a feature for years, hence the expression "spend a penny".

I find "Euro-nating" rather more irritating on DB - 30p/pee seems a lot more reasonable.

 

[Bookd]

At St. Pancras I have suspected that this might be a deal with the number of catering facilities - as mentioned elsewhere restaurants can be expected to have toilet facilities available.
A while ago I entertained my sister to a very good meal at the Fortnum and Mason shop at SP which has a small restaurant area at the back - when I asked for the gents I was directed to the station one two doors away as they did not have their own. It was free and well maintained.
This might be part of the lease agreements for the many such establishments so that they do not have to rebuild and provide their own.

 

[Bletchleyite]

At Manchester Pic there used to be separate bogs upstairs for the sit-in catering facilities with a code lock on the door. I half recall hearing they aren't there any more, though, so I'm not sure how they fulfil their licensing obligations now.

 

[Geoff DC]

Sounds an adventure . Pakistan , thats far . Any hauliers get to India ?

Very Rare but possibly Rynarts & Astran + I think a South London removal company did a few trips
More latterly a number of hauliers ran to the Chinese Border at Almaty to tranship onto Chinese wagons

Nowadays its a train all the way from China to the UK

 

[TwinTurbostar]

I seem to recall the toilets at Nuremberg Hbf cost 1 euro, but the receipt doubled as a 50c voucher redeemable at some of the station concessions.

A few months ago I went to use the toilets at Manchester Victoria and found that a homeless man had a nice little scheme going- he held the turnstile back with his hand and asked for some change from users. I'll also admit to using my MetroCard (when I had one) to pop through the barriers at Leeds, use the toilet and then come out again...

I've done something similar a few times in the past at Birmingham New Street now that I have a Network pass, although even beforehand, I've had station staff let me through the barrier when I've needed the loos.

 

[infobleep]

Woking is inside the gateline, whereas Guildford is outside I think (even if it's inside you can get in without a ticket)

Good point as its a public right if way through the station. I don't think the loos are part of the public right of way but I can't imagine one would be barred from using them when they hold a bridge pass - assuming that is in operation at that time.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I've done something similar a few times in the past at Birmingham New Street now that I have a Network pass, although even beforehand, I've had station staff let me through the barrier when I've needed the loos.

When I've had a Travelcard I've certainly used it for a slash before.

 

[PeterC]

I'm OK with paying for that reason (free ones always seem to be disgusting) but I do wish there was a contactless pad to avoid faffing with change.

Not on a station but in Whitby the really evil but free public loos at the bandsatand have been replaced with a decently clean one with both contactless and coins accepted.

Assuming that they still charge, the Liverpool Street turnstiles allow you to overpay and credit the balance to the next person through. Most people don't notice and still put in the full amount. I think about a quarter of the times that I have had to pay there it was less than the prescribed amount.

 

[Carlisle]

Agreed. Brightons toilets went free, and went from clean and all working to trashed within a few weeks..

Sound mostly down to poor management of the facilities as I’ve used the free ones at St Pancras several times and they’ve always been in reasonable nic.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Sound mostly down to poor management of the facilities as I’ve used the free ones at St Pancras several times and they’ve always been in reasonable nic.

I think they're a bit rough, to be honest.

 

[Carlisle]

I think they're a bit rough, to be honest.

Been a year or two, so sounds like they’ve gone downhill then .

 

[sprunt]

I used them last weekend (the ones down the passage near the escalator to the SE platforms) and it seemed fine to me. Clean, working locks on the door and there was paper in the cubicle.

 

[Mikey C]

I think they're a bit rough, to be honest.

You must have high standards then as they seem fine to me! You'd expect the St Pancras bogs to be in good nick, seeing that they serve the flagship Eurostar services and the station is tightly controlled for security purposes

So far the free London Bridge toilets seem to be in reasonably good nick. The old platform ones on the through lines were gross, but useful!

 

[silverfoxcc]

I’ve always found those which charge to be much cleaner and more pleasant environments (they don’t seem hang outs for junkies)
Alternatively you can buy a radar key on eBay (and similar) for a couple of quid and use the disabled toilet for free. This isn’t something I’d advocate, or whether it’s morally right is for you to decide.

Whilst a disabled parking space is specifically there for a reason .a 'Disabled' toilet is a toilet that can be used by the disabled. I darsay you use one everytime you use the facilities at a service station One toilet, does all

Nothing morally wrong in using one, it is a toilet...end of....there is no notices forbidding the use by able bodied people, it is just that most think that. This was explained when i first took up a job driving old biddies and mobility impaired people around. And YES i do have a RADAR key for my use if reqd

 

[Darandio]

I'm OK with paying for that reason (free ones always seem to be disgusting) but I do wish there was a contactless pad to avoid faffing with change.

I'm fine with it was well, but even paid ones can be pretty vile. Middlesbrough bus station i'm looking at you.

 

[talltim]

I still have memories of a school trip by coach to Prague, we stopped in the middle of the night as a service station somewhere in Germany, cue a whole load of schoolboys rushing into the loo. We came out to find those less desperate queuing up to pay a little old lady sitting outside!

 

[shredder1]

Weak bladder, its comes with old age, if I`m stuck at a barrier without change, the cleaner will have to be called out

 

[johnnychips]

Whitby was one of the first seaside resorts to introduce a pay toilet, looking over the harbour near the Co-op. Always clean and staffed. Looks like they’ve followed suit with the toilets near the pier.

Sheffield station has pay toilets on the concourse, but on the platforms they are free and clean. Donny’s are all free and have been clean when I used them.

As for abroad, I remember reading in the Hitch Hikers Guide to Europe that it was quite acceptable to use bar toilets in France without paying. Don’t know if that’s still true. (Or ever was!)

I don’t mind paying 50c to €1 on Belgian toilets in stations, which are are usually clean, and as they are staffed, no problem with change. One really annoying feature about Belgium is that some bars charge for the toilet even if you are a customer, which I do feel is a bit cheeky.

 

[richw]

Whilst a disabled parking space is specifically there for a reason .a 'Disabled' toilet is a toilet that can be used by the disabled. I darsay you use one everytime you use the facilities at a service station One toilet, does all

Nothing morally wrong in using one, it is a toilet...end of....there is no notices forbidding the use by able bodied people, it is just that most think that. This was explained when i first took up a job driving old biddies and mobility impaired people around. And YES i do have a RADAR key for my use if reqd

I added the morally bit as an edit, as admins notified they’d had people complaining about my original post!

 

[AlastairFraser]

They should be free if you have a rail ticket; in the future when most are on contactless cards that will be quite easy to arrange.

I love your idea,but surely it would be possible now, just replacing the coin gates with hybrid ticket/contactless card/coin gates.

 

[atraindriver]

<deleted>

 

[MCSHF007]

I seem to remember that when I was a lad access to the urinals was free but entry to a cubicle was chargeable. As any need to use the latter involved much more physical contact with the facilities (and more attention to detail re cleaning) plus of course the need for the provision (hopefully!) of toilet paper, this distinction always seemed reasonable and sensible to me.

 

[jon0844]

Only if they're not looked after properly. Plenty of places have free toilets open to the public without having to buy something, i.e. shopping centres, supermarkets, cinemas, shops, retail parks, hotels, airports, hospitals, car parks, motorway service stations, etc and most I've been in have been reasonably clean, tidy and well maintained. I've never understood why train stations charge for the same - it's just profiteering. Not just that, but last time I paid to use the ones at Euston, they were in a disgusting state so it's not as if having to pay guarantees them to be in a good condition.

Shopping centres usually have pretty proactive security teams with CCTV monitoring on site, various 'shop safe' schemes and the like.

They also usually close around 8 or 10pm and aren't open through the night, and at my local centre they close earlier than the centre itself - precisely to avoid issues that occur at night.

 

[jon0844]

I think they're a bit rough, to be honest.

One set did get a refurbishment, while the ones by The Circle are original and have the long queues (such as when many coaches arrive at once) and a design that makes drying your hands in the gents block people going in and out.

The sink design also means there's always water everywhere and needs to be cleaned up regularly (the plus side perhaps being that staff are always on hand). It's very hard to see where the accessible toilet(s) are, but when people do know then obviously they use that in preference to queuing, creating other queues.

I brought some of these 'concerns' up when the station wasn't even finished, as part of the 'user testing' but nothing has ever changed.

 

[jon0844]

I seem to remember that when I was a lad access to the urinals was free but entry to a cubicle was chargeable. As any need to use the latter involved much more physical contact with the facilities (and more attention to detail re cleaning) plus of course the need for the provision (hopefully!) of toilet paper, this distinction always seemed reasonable and sensible to me.

Couldn't work today as it would be deemed discriminatory for those who can't/don't use them.

 

[Spamcan81]

Or go on the train before you get to the station...

Good luck with that on a 313.

 

[infobleep]

Whilst a disabled parking space is specifically there for a reason .a 'Disabled' toilet is a toilet that can be used by the disabled. I darsay you use one everytime you use the facilities at a service station One toilet, does all

Nothing morally wrong in using one, it is a toilet...end of....there is no notices forbidding the use by able bodied people, it is just that most think that. This was explained when i first took up a job driving old biddies and mobility impaired people around. And YES i do have a RADAR key for my use if reqd

I've had people question me for using a disabled loo.

My stock answer now, were it to happen again, woild be, do you have to look disabled to be disabled?

Fortunately most people don't say anything and if they were giving me looks I would notice as I can't read subile body language.

I have a radar key but I wouldn't be keen on everyone having one, as then the disabled loos might not be quite as clean.

 

[radamfi]

Has anyone ever been prosecuted for evading the toilet fee?

 

[Jurg]

Whitby was one of the first seaside resorts to introduce a pay toilet, looking over the harbour near the Co-op.

If I'm going to pay for a toilet, it might as well be one where I can have a picturesque view while taking a dump