I just found out about this???

[PonyPals]

To all the UK Mners. Is it true you have to pay to use the public bathrooms??

No.

No

In some places such as train stations there's a token payment, yes. Worth it for the cleanliness.

Sometimes, depends where they are.

Even that's being phased out in a lot of places. Certainly London train stations don't charge anymore (at least not in Victoria or Charing Cross).

Some yes, others no.

Sometimes but not universally.
It's where the euphemism 'to spend a penny' comes from.

The Dunkeld (Perthshire, Scotland) public toilets are 50p admission. There is a dragon of a woman in the booth policing this. Having been caught short with no cash, I've learnt that if you ask very politely, she will allow you in without the fee. Though she does look at you as though you've farted on her toast for daring to ask 😂

(I did return to pay my 50p once it was no longer a urinary emergency!)

In some places yes. In many rural areas and communities they charge for the facilities as they are remote and difficult to upkeep.

I find far more pay to use in remote areas than urban train stations

Yes, sometimes. There are very, very few public toilets in my area now. The usual thing is to sneak into a pub or cafe and use theirs. Sometimes you have to buy something to get a code. Some train stations still have free toilets but the mainline ones usually charge.

It’s not just the UK, it’s similar in tourist areas across Europe.

My local public loos we have to pay for. 20p to get the door open. Quite often people (me included!) will turn the lock when finished to stop the door closing so the next person can use it for free. I don't see why people should have to pay to pee!

There is also a Tesco a 10 minute walk from there that has toilets that are free.

Quite often at seaside places you might have to put in 20p to open the door, but if it's not manned most people hold the door open for the next person so not everyone has to pay.

Sometimes the payment means it's much nicer toilets. I've never had to pay anywhere else, just seaside locations (and obviously some railway stations).

As above - in some places (usually train stations etc) you'll pay something like 20p, but in general public toilets are free.

I would say I've noticed this being more prevalent in european places I've visited - Italy, Germany, etc I've paid to use toilets. Got caught short in Budapest once and ran into a Mcdonalds to use the toilet and there was a guy with a little till outside the toilet taking €2 off everyone!

Sometimes yes. Mostly no.

Occasionally. Not very often though. I can’t remember the last time I had to pay to use one.

In my experience it’s much more common to have to pay to use public loos in continental Europe than in the UK.

The nearest seaside ones have a lady that actually takes the money. Some in the town centre take payment(and open if you're in there too long). Plus some train stations charge but the majority are free.

Yes but it is less frequent than it used to be. My grandad used to say he needed to “spend a penny”

To be honest so many public toilets have had to close because people are revolting and can't use them without trashing them - I'd much rather pay 50p so they can have an assistant keeping an eye on everything.

I don't see why people should have to pay to pee!
You don't if you go in a hedge or bush.

However if you want a clean toilet, with toilet paper, running water, soap and drying facilties as well as someone to clean them and the building to be maintained the 50p is a bargain!

Yes. You have to pay 20p to use the toilets in our town centre. The council employs an attendant so it seems reasonable.

If there is no attendant the toilets just get vandalised because sadly some people are awful and thus we cannot have nice things.

This is odd because I travel a lot through remote parts of the UK, and I’ve never had to pay in a remote area at all. I’ve often used loos even on barely inhabited islands and there’s never been a fee.

Yes. 50p in Plymouth, card payment accepted. That’s if you can find one to use.

In some public toilets, yes. In others, no. Been like this for years. I presume that's where the expression, "spend a penny", comes from.

I know the toilet facilities at Glagow Central and Edinburgh Waverley stations are free to use, which is good.

But the worrying trend round where I live is that the local authority toilet facilities can only be accessed if you have a bank card to pay the fee. They don't accept cash payment at all. I think that's so discriminatory.
I know there is a Disabled key that people with disability can apply for to use the specialist toilet facilities but I don't know anything about it - whether it's free , what the criteria is etc.

At St. Pancras station the toilets are free.

I live in a European city where there are very very few public toilets and most of those have a fee (90 centimes or a Euro). When I was having radiotherapy which gave me urgency for the toilet, I could barely leave the house, and going to the supermarket usually resulted in an accident; I had a disabled pass but there are no disabled toilets!

Men here tend to just wee wherever in the street.