3 ms·

I don't know how serious this article is. This is because even in Europe there's a huge disparity between countries and I don't think it can be generalised. In

by mrtksn 2y ago

I don't know how serious this article is. This is because even in Europe there's a huge disparity between countries and I don't think it can be generalised. In London, it's socially acceptable to use the toilet of any venue like a pub. In Paris they have high tech public toilets that automatically clean themselves, in Turkey mosques usually operate public toilets for profit alongside with the facilities provided by the government, in Germany they have Sanifair which gives you voucher for your payment and you can use at any participating location to purchase stuff like coffee.

attendant3446 2y ago
In Germany, it is normal to charge even paying customers extra for using the restroom.
jmkni 2y ago
Anecdotal, but I got an uber in London recently (quite near the center) and the driver was complaining the whole trip about the fact that he needed to take a piss, and that there was a severe lack of public toilets.
- mrtksn 2y ago
  I see how this can be a problem. It's probably not O.K. to offload the Taxi industry toilet costs to 3rd party businesses.
  - nytesky 2y ago
    So before Uber did taxis return to dispatch center for such things? With their own version of Danny DeVito?
    - mrtksn 2y ago
      I have no idea, probably it varies by location. If no paid public toilets are available and dispatch centres with toilets are not a thing they can always strike a deal with local businesses I guess. Also, they need to eat and the places they eat are probably also the places they use the WC.
- bell-cot 2y ago
  A decent and competent version of Uber would be meeting such needs. As things are - other companies can make national headlines by caring about human needs of drivers: https://www.today.com/food/news/chick-fil-a-break-room-rcna71031 https://www.today.com/food/news/chick-fil-a-break-room-rcna7...
grahar64 2y ago
In London places won't let you use their bathrooms unless you buy something. The UK was by far the worst place I have visited for lack of public toilets. They also don't have many/any public fountains, which is insane around kids playgrounds that have no public facilities within walking distance.
- mrtksn 2y ago
  I guess that's true in touristy places but in general there's nothing stopping anybody from using the WC, just walk in. Would be nice to buy something but asking politely will do too, I've never been turned down. In Turkey they really like putting formal structure to that kind of stuff and venues at the high street sometimes have a lock with a password which is printed on the receipt with your purchase. One particular McDonald's was a pioneer in this, as their location was at the most crowded and central place where people used to meet before the proliferation of cellphones.
- dukeyukey 2y ago
  It's not like they have keycards on the toilets (least not the vast, vast majority). You can just walk in the use them. Wetherspoons reliably have clean bathrooms and there are a lot of them.
- omnicognate 2y ago
  They're not required to let you, but I just ask politely if I can use their loo and have never been refused. There has indeed been a steady decline in the number of public toilets, though.
- wirthjason 2y ago
  Will they really not let you use the bathroom? The same idea exists in the US, and often bathrooms have a PIN code to enter or a special key only the shop owner has. I’ve never been turned down when asking politely. Most people are rather sympathetic when someone needs to use the bathroom for legitimate purposes.
  - haliskerbas 2y ago
watwut 2y ago
That German voucher thing system sux. You cant just buy something cheap with voucher, there is minimum buy attached to it. So, you pay 1e for toilet and if you want to use the voucher, you have to pay 5e minimum - usually in overpriced shop you want nothing from. The end result is that woods next to stops smell horribly and you have to be super careful where to step. Because, too many people stop there to piss and shit.
EVa5I7bHFq9mnYK 2y ago
Finland is the undisputed champion in this respect (as in many other quality of life respects), never had a problem to find a free nice public toilet there. Norway was the worst, not only the prices were outrageous, but only Norwegian issued card was accepted for payment. Netherlands has an inventive solution for males, but its smells not so nice.

by mrtksn 2y ago

attendant3446 2y ago

In Germany, it is normal to charge even paying customers extra for using the restroom.

jmkni 2y ago

Anecdotal, but I got an uber in London recently (quite near the center) and the driver was complaining the whole trip about the fact that he needed to take a piss, and that there was a severe lack of public toilets.

mrtksn 2y ago
I see how this can be a problem. It's probably not O.K. to offload the Taxi industry toilet costs to 3rd party businesses.
- nytesky 2y ago
  So before Uber did taxis return to dispatch center for such things? With their own version of Danny DeVito?
  - mrtksn 2y ago
    I have no idea, probably it varies by location. If no paid public toilets are available and dispatch centres with toilets are not a thing they can always strike a deal with local businesses I guess. Also, they need to eat and the places they eat are probably also the places they use the WC.
bell-cot 2y ago
A decent and competent version of Uber would be meeting such needs. As things are - other companies can make national headlines by caring about human needs of drivers: https://www.today.com/food/news/chick-fil-a-break-room-rcna71031 https://www.today.com/food/news/chick-fil-a-break-room-rcna7...

grahar64 2y ago

In London places won't let you use their bathrooms unless you buy something. The UK was by far the worst place I have visited for lack of public toilets. They also don't have many/any public fountains, which is insane around kids playgrounds that have no public facilities within walking distance.

mrtksn 2y ago
I guess that's true in touristy places but in general there's nothing stopping anybody from using the WC, just walk in. Would be nice to buy something but asking politely will do too, I've never been turned down. In Turkey they really like putting formal structure to that kind of stuff and venues at the high street sometimes have a lock with a password which is printed on the receipt with your purchase. One particular McDonald's was a pioneer in this, as their location was at the most crowded and central place where people used to meet before the proliferation of cellphones.
dukeyukey 2y ago
It's not like they have keycards on the toilets (least not the vast, vast majority). You can just walk in the use them. Wetherspoons reliably have clean bathrooms and there are a lot of them.
omnicognate 2y ago
They're not required to let you, but I just ask politely if I can use their loo and have never been refused. There has indeed been a steady decline in the number of public toilets, though.
wirthjason 2y ago
Will they really not let you use the bathroom? The same idea exists in the US, and often bathrooms have a PIN code to enter or a special key only the shop owner has. I’ve never been turned down when asking politely. Most people are rather sympathetic when someone needs to use the bathroom for legitimate purposes.
- haliskerbas 2y ago

watwut 2y ago

That German voucher thing system sux. You cant just buy something cheap with voucher, there is minimum buy attached to it. So, you pay 1e for toilet and if you want to use the voucher, you have to pay 5e minimum - usually in overpriced shop you want nothing from. The end result is that woods next to stops smell horribly and you have to be super careful where to step. Because, too many people stop there to piss and shit.

EVa5I7bHFq9mnYK 2y ago

Finland is the undisputed champion in this respect (as in many other quality of life respects), never had a problem to find a free nice public toilet there. Norway was the worst, not only the prices were outrageous, but only Norwegian issued card was accepted for payment. Netherlands has an inventive solution for males, but its smells not so nice.