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I was in France recently and used a public restroom. It had an attendant, and a fee of €0.50. Charging for the restroom is unfortunate, but this setup is certai
by strbean 1mo ago
I was in France recently and used a public restroom. It had an attendant, and a fee of €0.50. Charging for the restroom is unfortunate, but this setup is certainly better than eliminating public restrooms entirely.
- kazinator 1mo agoThat practically ensures that some people who have to go really badly, and for whom €0.50 is a big deal, will just drop their business on the sidewalk.
- zamadatix 1mo agoSomehow that seems ensured regardless.
- marssaxman 1mo agohow is that different from what they'd do if the pay toilet didn't exist?
- deleted 1mo ago[deleted]
- cubefox 1mo agoIt also makes it more likely that hobos and drug addicts don't soil and destroy the public bathrooms.
- seszett 1mo agoThe only place in France I have seen this happen was Paris and public toilets are free there. I haven't seen paid toilets at all in France for a long time, actually. Maybe in train stations though.
- strbean 1mo agoThis was a year ago in Nice for reference.
- seszett 1mo agoOh I don't doubt you, I was just reflecting that I think that paid toilets have largely been made free in the last 10 years or so. But I'm sure there still exist quite a few, and I wouldn't be surprised if they were especially found in right-wing cities like Nice.
- kazinator 1mo agoThe modern toilet should let you pay with your personal info: Toilet: "Sign up (learn more) or proceed with Google Account ..." Google: "pissoir.fr wants access to your pissing history ...(Y/n)" Toilet: By pissing here, you consent to the collection and analysis of urine samples .. :)
- Dusseldorf 1mo agoMy town in the US has something like this. Several portable toilet trailers that are typically stationed near public gathering areas all year round, and moved to accommodate large events. They're significantly nicer than porta potties, and are about on par with any public bathroom accessed from outside. They require the ability to either scan a QR code, or send/receive SMS. They've always been clean any time I've used them, and have some mechanisms to report cleanliness issues back to toilet HQ.
- deleted 1mo ago[deleted]
- mym1990 1mo agoI was in Nice as well and found one place that had a public urinal(my back was literally to people walking around). It was a bit odd...but I really had to go.
- kazinator 1mo agoYes; the inverse is not true; making it free won't ensure that it won't happen.
- frollogaston 1mo agoI went to Paris a month ago and saw paid public toilets. Those enclosed things on the sidewalk.
- Mezzie 1mo agoI was just in Paris and I never had to pay for the public sidewalk toilets. Where did you see paid ones? I didn't get to all the arrondisements, so I'm curious.
- frollogaston 1mo agoI don't remember actually. I was staying in Montparnasse so the 14th. Was 1 Euro wherever it was. Might've been this one: https://maps.app.goo.gl/5vPoD7jM3ELyP6gL7 https://maps.app.goo.gl/5vPoD7jM3ELyP6gL7 And it's not this other one on the same street, cause this was free https://maps.app.goo.gl/Firjcsabthu8DHtQ6 https://maps.app.goo.gl/Firjcsabthu8DHtQ6
- Mezzie 1mo agoThat makes sense; I didn't spend any time in the 14th. I did notice a big difference in public bathroom availability based on arrondisement, but all the ones I saw/used were free. (The ones that weren't closed or out of order, that is...)
- baud147258 1mo agoI've seen paid toilets in train stations (last month in le Mans, a few years ago in a corner of Montparnasse station, though that was before the last round of renovation) and in a mall (CNIT in la Defense). Some RATP train stations have public toilets that you can access with your train ticket, so it's not quite free.
- ishouldstayaway 1mo ago> but this setup is certainly better than eliminating public restrooms entirely.
- deleted 1mo ago[deleted]
- jmcodes 1mo ago- Ask the attendant. - Explain the problem. - Someone behind you gives you fifty cents. - Attendant waves you in. - Come back and pay later. - Someone nearby helps.
- deleted 1mo ago[deleted]
- Cthulhu_ 1mo agoThe 50 cents is dual purpose, the one is obvious in that it pays for the attendant and them keeping it clean, but the other is like using a coin to unlock a trolley, it cuts back misuse by a lot. Once you've been to free vs 50 cent toilets a few times you'll see (and smell) the difference.
- ssl-3 1mo agoThe trolley analogy doesn't really hold up in this context, does it? The incentive to do the right thing that a coin-deposit shopping cart ("trolley") adds is the ultimate return of that coin. It's not much money, but it is nonetheless returned when the cart is put back where it belongs. If a cart always costs 50 cents and there is no hope of ever getting that money back, then: The monetary incentive to return the cart doesn't exist.
- ostacke 1mo agoWell, even if you don’t get your 50 cents back you usually have an incentive to leave the restroom when you’re done.
- indoordin0saur 1mo agoWould much prefer this than what we have in NYC, which is go into a bar or cafe, buy something small and then use the restroom. Another thing I'll do sometimes is if I see a busy bar where the bartender isn't paying attention you can walk in, pretend you're looking for friends you're meeting, use the toilet and then sneak out.
- lukan 1mo agoAs the result will be shit and piss elsewhere in the open, a compromise could be having shitty free public toilets and nice toilets where you pay (or maybe not nice, but bearable). The alternative would be social workers, more psychotherapists, free healthcare, ...
- brap 1mo agoSurely more social workers will stop people from pissing on the floor
- lukan 1mo agoNot all people are doomed from the start to become asocial messed up beings. Probably no one is - but they all have a history and their reasons. And even messed up beings who don't mind shitting anywhere - can suddenly get some conscience again, if someone speaks to them in the right words. Also even the most messed up people would use a urinal, if avaiable.