I just found out about this???

[PonyPals]

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

Yes it was card only this weekend. I saw a male teen weeing in car park to presumably avoid the charge so that is risk of charging.

hAMMERSMITH TUBE STATION , YES. 50P AND THEY TAKE CARD PAYMENTS!!!

Sorry had caps on!!

The facilities are so much better in Australia, toilets everywhere, no charge and very, very clean...even on fairly remote roads.

I miss it

I have been in toilets where they play birdsong. I quite like it. We call them the bird toilet.

I often pay when in the Cotswolds. Just tap your card.. much easier as I never have coins. Same in London and a few in Cornwall. Wouldn't say they were very clean though.

I've noticed it happening more and more but far more worrying is the mass closing of toilets.

In the south west, many of the public toilets in the city are pay. As with many in high traffic areas, like the beaches.

Went to Whitby recently and had to pay to use the public loo but didn't in York.

Not once have I paid in Australia.
Villnius on the other hand... couldn't find a single 'free' toilet so always made sure had coins on me

Yes you can but should only buy them if you really need one. I had one given to me off the local disability association for ds and ds who do have disabilities. But I wouldn’t use it when they’re not with me. That wouldn’t be fair if a genuinely disabled person has to wait for me to use it.

Mainline stations don't usually charge now, likewise motorway service stations and shopping centres. Those provided by councils such as on seafronts and carparks, on private land or in the countryside might. Cafes, pubs etc usually require you to be a customer.

No. Unless you are in Windermere, which have turnstiles and it's 50p each - sexist since women cannot go and pee up a tree, but men can. Oh, think it's 20p in Lytham St Anne's. Probably to keep out the riff-raff!🤔

I live in Bristol and I can't think of a single public loo that hasn't been boarded up or turned into a cafe.

And it is sexist because women need safe facilities since we have to undress partially even if only to urinate. Clean, safe public toilets are one of the main ways in which twentieth century women were freed to take their place in the public sphere.

Maybe OP means those funny booths in the street? Has anyone ever used one of those though?! I remember hearing horror stories (all rumour I think!) of doors opening when you are in them or them going on a wash cycle and trapping you in!

This is what always happens to me. I stop drinking as I know there are no loos anywhere and then I have a headache later in the day just when I'd like a nice glass of Spanish red. 🙄

Must have led to a lot of blockages. Tissues are not flushable like toilet paper is.

It varies. Get off the train in Leeds and there'll be a platform loo you can use for free. Go through the gates onto the concourse and you'll have to pay. But the equivalent facilities at York station don't cost anything. To be honest, I'm happy to pay; it's better than having grotty conveniences or none at all. On the other hand, many people got out of the habit of carrying change during the pandemic and not everywhere has electronic payment systems for tiny sums.

Because of health problems, I'm used to mapping out the location of loos wherever I go, but not everyone is and as a country that relies on travel and tourism for a decent chunk of our income, I wonder about the impression we give of ourselves when we make it difficult for people to spend a penny. (Or 50p.)

When I saw the title of this thread my immediate thought was of this very woman at these toilets! Had a similar issue when my daughter was desperate there!

In Netherlands and Germany you normally have to pay to use toilets in motorway services, train stations and shopping centres. Often you get a voucher back for an amount slightly less than what you paid that you can use in food outlets.
Sometimes you need to pay in food places like McDonald’s.
the uk has some places you need to pay but generally it’s a lot less than in Netherlands and Germany.

Lots of chargeable toilets in Scotland - 15-50p. Charging certainly doesn't make for a clean toilet.

I think everyone needs the loo though. I have a key, I’m not disabled but my pelvic floor is weak and I have a prolapse so if I can’t make it to the loo it’ll just start dribbling out and there’s only so much you can do with pads. There’s no public loos after 4/5. I don’t mind paying when open but out of hours a key is a godsend.

Used to have to pay in the big stations. I remember they let me in for free when i was heavily pregnant at Euston. Free to use now though. There are some you have to pay for in parks round London.

Usually only in nice ones. Believe me, I would rather pay 20 or 50p for a pleasant toilet than a free grotty one that I'm scared to touch anything in.

You have to pay 20p to go through turnstiles where I live (midlands)

In Salisbury they are closing the ones you pay 20p for.Still free by the multi storey car park though. Apparently we have 60% less toilets than 2010 today!

All the free public toilets have been closed down, where I live. The train station is 20 pence and we have to buy something to use cafe loos. The only free toilet in our city centre is the library.