I just found out about this???

Ah ok, I suppose it depends on the size of town city you live in or near, they are free around my area

This is the case in Belgium, but if there are no bars and cafes open you're in trouble because there are very few stand alone public toilets.

Why are you asking?

What do you mean you "just found out"?

It's not true to say that most elsewhere are free to use. I haven't been in a free public toilet for years, apart from those in cafés, restaurants, big stores or hospitals. Most around here are card operated and don't take cash at all. 50p is the usual charge with these. Others that in places I go are run by local volunteers, in which case there are honesty boxes.

Glasgow central went up to 30p before they stopped charging!

Most of the public loos in towns in my county and the next one (both rural, with some seaside) have a charge. However, away from the towns they are mainly free.

You have to pay at Euston, but as a PP has said not at St Pancras (though it's a 15 min walk with luggage so probably not worth it to save the fee!). I can't think of another mainline station where you have to pay but I don't often go to all of the London mainline stations so there may be others.

The problem is people that use them for other reasons of what they are there for, so a 50p charge keeps them out

You can buy them on amazon for a couple of quid.

In some, that's why people sometimes use the phrase 'I've got to spend a Penny' meaning they need the loo. It's a bit more expensive now, big train stations, tourist areas like Covent garden etc toilets charge. Most public toilets outside these areas are free to use.

Waterloo (parden the pun) station in London stopped charging to go to the loo in 2019 apparently.

And where are you that this deeply shocking news has just reached your?

I think it’s far more common to pay for the loo in continental Europe than it is in the uk. It’s been phased out at railway stations hasn’t it?

Some places do, some places don't. Lots of public toilets have been closed down (because of rising costs and vandalism) so it can be really difficult if you have a condition that means you need to find a loo quickly. I've a friend who's really limited in where he can go because of this.

It's definitely not restricted to the UK, in case you're assuming only the British are in the dark ages with lavatory provision.

I’d rather there was a charge than free access for anti social behaviour.

There’s not actually many public toilets about now. But in the UK cafes and places that serve food HAVE to have toilets - which I don’t think is true in the US.

inner city public toilets and even those in supermarkets tend to be used by people taking drugs and stink, took my DC into a Morrisons to change them and it stunk and had drugs paraphernalia strewn around.

I once paid 50p to use a loo somewhere in London (and for the life of me,can't remember where)

It was the filthiest toliet I've ever seen-if a rat had ran past,I wouldn't have been shocked

It was like something from trainspotting

Did what I had to do,risked catching god knows what at the sinks and ran out

We walked round a few corners and found spotless and free loos not far away

I used to live in york and used the famous Splash Palace a few time (public loos)

They cost 20p (I think) for us ladies but free for fellas

The ladies where cleanish thanks to the attendants but the fellas stank (even in winter-summer was unbearable) as nobody cleaned them often enough

They have thankfully been knocked down now-the public loos are on Silver Street and not very nice but are clean

Nobody I know uses them,lots of shops have loos that are free (they may not be there anymore,I've not been to York for years)

The problem is not that we have to pay, it’s that there are very few public toilets around these days.

The public toilets in my village are 20p. Everyone moans about this. The council.stopped funding them so now it's down to the Parish Council. Of course its ridiculous, there should be free public toilets everywhere.

We call them toilets in the UK rather than bathrooms.

Used to but I havent seen this for a long time. Nowhere in London now that I am aware of. 10/15y ago the toilets at large London trains stations were 20p.

There are not many left now and you do have to pay for some.
I tend to find a MacDonalds or pub to nip into

It infuriated me, years and years ago, that the men's toilets were free but we had to find a penny for the door lock!

I live between two seaside towns and public toilets in both towns are free to use.

Years ago you had to pay (a penny, which is where the phrase comes from) at station toilets but a poster above said that is no longer always the case.

The problem with this is that if they don’t make enough money to cover the cost of providing the loo it may well close.
It certainly happened in the seaside town in which I live.

Once upon a time the majority of public toilets you had to pay a charge.
Not so much anymore.

Traditionally it used to cost a penny which you put in a slot to unlock the door. Of course people held the door for each other so the pennies paid were depleted.

visited a voluntary pay one in Blue Anchor, Somerset. Run by local volunteers and it was immaculate. There’s a cast iron donation box outside, old post box maybe .