Free loos at MAN, LIV & LDS from next Monday

[samuelmorris]

It's an amazing thing that Mark Carne sat their for years and then, when he had to go, suddenly grasped the idea of drinking fountains and free loos as a legacy decision. Still, well done about something. Every major station should have free loos that are policed, supervised and serviced. Every one.

I was really impressed with these when I first saw them, I thought they were a great idea. Of course, as they're not suitably maintained, I believe a lot of them are now out of use.

 

[Tim R-T-C]

I’ve always found the ones at TfW/ATW stations to be generally quite poor. They seem to be in a constant cycle of getting refurbished and then neglected.

I'm pretty sure the ones at Cardiff Queen Street were surplus from the gaol across the way. Metal toilets with no seats and big signs warning you of CCTV recording all around....

 

[Andyh82]

Neither do I. They're free in shopping malls, retail parks, motorway service stations, airports. The difference is that in such places, they're regularly cleaned/maintained. There are also often security staff to deal with the vagrants and vandals. Railway stations simply don't seem to bother to clean, maintain or properly supervise them, just like local councils who likewise ignore them and then whinge when they're vandalised. If railway stations "attract" a certain kind of person who vandalises the loos, then they need to get their security/BTP to monitor/supervise more closely.

There is the big difference that some of those places aren’t in the town centre and handy for homeless people or drunks to pop in.

Shopping centres are private property with security meaning anyone dodgy will be evicted long before they get near the toilets. This doesn’t happen in railway stations.

I personally don’t mind paying 20p, it’s when you are talking 50p that it’s a bit ridiculous, also the fact you need a constant supply of loose change which is getting less likely by the year, and the change machines never work.

 

[abn444]

Clapham Junction is a Network Rail station.

Used to be an SWT/SWR station though

 

[F Great Eastern]

Personally the ones in Germany and other countries where you have to pay a €1 or so to go which you can pay on card are far better than the ones we pay for here - I don't mind paying a € in those countries as they always are big, modern, smell lovely and in excellent condition.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Personally the ones in Germany and other countries where you have to pay a €1 or so to go which you can pay on card are far better than the ones we pay for here - I don't mind paying a € in those countries as they always are big, modern, smell lovely and in excellent condition.

FWIW, I would happily pay £1 or even more for a spotlessly clean and comfortable facility for a seated performance, but for the more frequent standing performances I would be quite happy with a semi-outside steel trough that's just hosed down once a day for £0.

The problem with this kind of differential is that it is discriminatory against those for whom, shall we say, a standing performance is impractical.

 

[DynamicSpirit]

Honestly if you could pay with an Oyster card I'd pay £1 to use the facilities at a station if it meant they were kept clean. Using the single cubicle at Stratford with no lock, no toilet seat (at all), no soap and no hand dryer or towels reminded me what it's like to use one that's left to rot. As someone that has difficulty using toilets on a moving vehicle I really wish station toilets were better.

The Stratford ones are pretty awful. But to be fair, that may have more to do with the size of them than the fact that they are free: A couple of urinals is completely inadequate for a station as heavily used as Stratford, and must mean that the Stratford toilets will be being used much more intensively than most station toilets - making it harder to keep them respectable.

 

[MCSHF007]

FWIW, I would happily pay £1 or even more for a spotlessly clean and comfortable facility for a seated performance, but for the more frequent standing performances I would be quite happy with a semi-outside steel trough that's just hosed down once a day for £0.

The problem with this kind of differential is that it is discriminatory against those for whom, shall we say, a standing performance is impractical.

This. The charge (if any) should reflect the cost of provision regardless of any of gender sensibilities. A "seated performance" involves provision of bog roll - to my best recollection last time I procured same from Tesco it wasn't free. Happy to pay a small fee to access a well maintained cubicle if/when the need arises, very much less so for a "standing performance".

 

[Qwerty133]

I find the change thing a big nuisance and would object less if contactless payment was available, and even less again if the barrier was like a proper ticket barrier rather than an awkward turnstile.

Keep the turnstiles as they are much easier to climb over than a barrier...

 

[yorksrob]

The Stratford ones are pretty awful. But to be fair, that may have more to do with the size of them than the fact that they are free: A couple of urinals is completely inadequate for a station as heavily used as Stratford, and must mean that the Stratford toilets will be being used much more intensively than most station toilets - making it harder to keep them respectable.

This is true with a lot of major stations.

Time was when they would be built with cubicles as far as the eye can see, where as now you get three or four if lucky.

I'm all for this move because I really resent paying 40p, only to have to stand and wait for one of the three cubicles to become free.