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London has these $75,000 public urinals that disappear during the day http://www.engadget.com/2006/11/19/urilift-the-disappearing-public-urinal-and-we-do-mean-p
by m0hit 14y ago
London has these $75,000 public urinals that disappear during the day http://www.engadget.com/2006/11/19/urilift-the-disappearing-public-urinal-and-we-do-mean-public/ http://www.engadget.com/2006/11/19/urilift-the-disappearing-...
- debacle 14y agoWhy did that cost 75k? I can only assume it's to be bulletproof against rowdy drunks.
- thaumaturgy 14y agoGood hydraulic lift; custom manufacturing; extensive safety testing (what happens if the lift fails?); cost of building a product for a bureaucracy (paperwork, adherence to regulations, extension of development timeline); R&D and payback on loans or other capital outlay; profit.
- Someone 14y agoIt likely also includes cost of transport (it is a fairly large stainless steel structure) and installation (digging a hole, moving existing cabling out of the way, etc) If not, prices have risen very steeply since 2007. http://www.visit-gloucestershire.co.uk/boards/topic/2674-stroud-to-install- http://www.visit-gloucestershire.co.uk/boards/topic/2674-str... states: "The Urilift and associated installation costs amount to £45,000 (broken down as £27,000 for the product and £18,000 for installation). As the structure is made of stainless steel and is very robust its lifetime should be 15-20 years - equating to a cost of only £2,000-3,000 per annum in addressing this serious problem. Maintenance costs are estimated at only £2,000 per annum." If £27,000 still seems expensive, you must consider that these things stand outside the whole year round, and, given the target audience, probably do not get the best of treatment by their users.
- thaumaturgy 14y agoAh, I didn't consider whether or not transportation / installation were included. 2007 was 5 years ago. Fuel and food costs have both risen sharply since then, as have the costs for just about everything other than labor. So, I wouldn't be surprised.
- m0hit 14y agoThe currently installed public urinals of San Francisco cost $300,000. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/17/us/17toilets.html http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/17/us/17toilets.html
- jlgreco 14y agoI wonder if they have anything to keep people clear when those are rising/setting.
- Someone 14y agoAFAIK, these things are operated by remote control by people standing nearby (http://urilift.com/ http://urilift.com/: "Every night at about 22.00 the UriLift is activated by personnel from a bar nearby") That way, they are about as dangerous as remotely controlled garage doors.
- jlgreco 14y agoAhh, that makes much more sense. I suppose passing policemen or something could close them, since bars probably aren't open early in the morning.