Was on the tube longer than expected due to delays tonight. Finally got
to Canning Town busting for a wazz.

I ran - in the hope that they had forgotten to lock the toilets at the
brightly lit Canning Town bus station. But no, they were well locked,
including the disabled ones.

For ****'s sake.

Whilst waiting 15 minutes for a bus at Canning Town I was in pain. I was
close to going there and then but there were too many people.
Furthermo

(a) I'm not a yob and don't want an ASBO

(b) I wasn't drunk enough.


I think it is outrageous that they close the toilets so early. I paid
for those toilets out of my taxes, but they can't be bothered to man
them after about 8 o'clock. And it's after then when they're most
needed, after the pubs.

It's ridiculous. Last month I saw (unintentionally, of course) this girl
have a wee on the ticket hall level of Canning Town station, between the
two escalators. From her expression she was clearly very embarrassed.
She was no yob, she was just caught short. Not hard to do when you have
problems with the tube service.

Who does one complain to? I complained to my MP ages ago via FaxyourMP
and got no answer.

The official reason for closing the toilets early is apparently
something to do with vandalism. Well why don't they have a coin system
then. I'd happily pay 20p after 8pm if that were the answer. Or have a
system that works well on the continent, or here in UK clubs, where you
have someone looking after the toilets and collecting tips. It works,
and it's not as though there's a shortage of people who would gladly
take the job for some money.

The whole system is ridiculous.

In the end, in pain, I managed to hold on and got the bus and persuaded
a kebab shop at the Greengate to let me use their staff-only toilet.

I'm fed up with this. I know yobs are a problem, but shutting down WCs
out of fear of the yobs just will turn ordinary folk into "yobs"
themselves. No one appears to take any responsibility. And the staff at
the station don't give a **** - they have their own toilets.

******** to the lot of them.

Tristán White wrote:
Was on the tube longer than expected due to delays tonight. Finally
got to Canning Town busting for a wazz.

I ran - in the hope that they had forgotten to lock the toilets at the
brightly lit Canning Town bus station. But no, they were well locked,
including the disabled ones.

For ****'s sake.

I know what you mean! I think it's outrageous as well.

The authorities repeatedly put the responsibility on the pubs and other
outlets to provide toilet facilities - but why should they, other than for
their own customers? Being caught short does not necessarily mean that
you've been out drinking all night. You might have had too many cups of tea
before leaving home or work or just have an incontinence problem.

IMO public toilet facilities are a basic human right.

Tristán White wrote:
I think it is outrageous that they close the toilets so early. I paid
for those toilets out of my taxes, but they can't be bothered to man
them after about 8 o'clock. And it's after then when they're most
needed, after the pubs.

I agree, I've been caught short myself and had to find a quiet place.
Unfortunately, I used to work at Willesden Green station, where the
toilets are closed from 8pm daily. If you saw the state of them though
you'd maybe understand - just about every fluid ended up on the floor,
walls, sinks, wherever, and that was with a member of staff standing
right outside. And of course, once that happens, they become unfit for
use and would be closed anyway.

I like the idea of the club-style toilets, where someone mans the
toilets to keep things as they should be, however I wonder how much
difference this would make when a group of drugged up yobs turn up, and
decide they can't be bothered to aim properly, and the toilets end up
closed anyway. I don't think someone standing in the same room (a la
the clubs) is going to make a big difference once they're shut in their
own cubicle...

Even paying 20p, or more wouldn't stop it, as my painful experience in
public loos off Kensington High Street proved to me! Maybe 50p would
work though, as the toilets on the river at Westminster are always well
kept!

Since I've been growing up I've hated this culture of the minority
spoiling things for everyone else, but no-one seems to stand up
(possibly for fear of being stabbed in the eye with a dirty needle!)

In message . 145,
Tristán White writes
I think it is outrageous that they close the toilets so early. I paid
for those toilets out of my taxes, but they can't be bothered to man
them after about 8 o'clock. And it's after then when they're most
needed, after the pubs.
A slightly more accurate statement is that you pay (out of your taxes)
for the toilets to be manned between the times they are opened. So if
you want them to be opened longer then that's an additional financial
requirement.

I wonder whether pay-for-use toilets on the underground would be more
likely to avoid the attentions of the anti-social contingent? Fenchurch
Street toilets are always busy regardless of the fact that there are
toilets on board every train.

For what it's worth I sympathise entirely however! Luck of the drawer
how good one's bladder is and I understand (from talking to friends)
that it can even make one reconsider one's evening plans depending on
the availability of facilities.

I believe central government removed the requirement of local
authorities to maintain public toilets in the 1980s 9as a cash saving
measure), but I could be wrong in this (it may just be in 1980s local
councils realised that there was no statutory requirement to provide
public toilets). Certainly something along those lines!

"Tristán White" wrote in message
. 109.145...
Was on the tube longer than expected due to delays tonight. Finally got
to Canning Town busting for a wazz.

I ran - in the hope that they had forgotten to lock the toilets at the
brightly lit Canning Town bus station. But no, they were well locked,
including the disabled ones.

For ****'s sake.

Whilst waiting 15 minutes for a bus at Canning Town I was in pain. I was
close to going there and then but there were too many people.
Furthermo

(a) I'm not a yob and don't want an ASBO

(b) I wasn't drunk enough.


I think it is outrageous that they close the toilets so early. I paid
for those toilets out of my taxes, but they can't be bothered to man
them after about 8 o'clock. And it's after then when they're most
needed, after the pubs.

If you want your taxes or ticket prices increased dramatically to pay for
all these extra people manning all toilets around the network, then please
get a petition together and lobby your MP, or whoever you have to, in order
to get it changed.

It's ridiculous. Last month I saw (unintentionally, of course) this girl
have a wee on the ticket hall level of Canning Town station, between the
two escalators. From her expression she was clearly very embarrassed.
She was no yob, she was just caught short. Not hard to do when you have
problems with the tube service.

Who does one complain to? I complained to my MP ages ago via FaxyourMP
and got no answer.

The official reason for closing the toilets early is apparently
something to do with vandalism. Well why don't they have a coin system
then. I'd happily pay 20p after 8pm if that were the answer. Or have a
system that works well on the continent, or here in UK clubs, where you
have someone looking after the toilets and collecting tips. It works,
and it's not as though there's a shortage of people who would gladly
take the job for some money.

Then all the yobs have to do is spend 20p to cause £2,000 damage. great.
Now unless 10,000 people used the toilet before it was damaged, there is no
money to fix it.

The whole system is ridiculous.

People wanting to vandalise is ridiculous. Toilets being closed because of
it are just a side-effect.

In the end, in pain, I managed to hold on and got the bus and persuaded
a kebab shop at the Greengate to let me use their staff-only toilet.

I'm fed up with this. I know yobs are a problem, but shutting down WCs
out of fear of the yobs just will turn ordinary folk into "yobs"
themselves. No one appears to take any responsibility. And the staff at
the station don't give a **** - they have their own toilets.

It's not out of fear, but out of accounting. It costs a lot to keep toilets
manned, and where they are not, we've all seen the damage yobs can do to
them, and someone has to foot the bill (us). Public services can't just
throw our cash around - they have a mandate to spend sensibly. I guess
there are more pressing matters than people forgetting to use the toilet
before they travel late in the evening, and being caught short.

******** to the lot of them.

******** to the yobs, more like.

dave

Paul G wrote:

A slightly more accurate statement is that you pay (out of your taxes)
for the toilets to be manned between the times they are opened. So if
you want them to be opened longer then that's an additional financial
requirement.

Could the provision of chargeable toilets be considered a business
opportunity? It certainly seems to be in Germany.

Neil

d wrote:
"Tristán White" wrote in message
. 109.145...
Was on the tube longer than expected due to delays tonight. Finally got
to Canning Town busting for a wazz.

I ran - in the hope that they had forgotten to lock the toilets at the
brightly lit Canning Town bus station. But no, they were well locked,
including the disabled ones.

For ****'s sake.

Whilst waiting 15 minutes for a bus at Canning Town I was in pain. I was
close to going there and then but there were too many people.
Furthermo

(a) I'm not a yob and don't want an ASBO

(b) I wasn't drunk enough.


I think it is outrageous that they close the toilets so early. I paid
for those toilets out of my taxes, but they can't be bothered to man
them after about 8 o'clock. And it's after then when they're most
needed, after the pubs.

If you want your taxes or ticket prices increased dramatically to pay for
all these extra people manning all toilets around the network, then please
get a petition together and lobby your MP, or whoever you have to, in order
to get it changed.

It's ridiculous. Last month I saw (unintentionally, of course) this girl
have a wee on the ticket hall level of Canning Town station, between the
two escalators. From her expression she was clearly very embarrassed.
She was no yob, she was just caught short. Not hard to do when you have
problems with the tube service.

Who does one complain to? I complained to my MP ages ago via FaxyourMP
and got no answer.

The official reason for closing the toilets early is apparently
something to do with vandalism. Well why don't they have a coin system
then. I'd happily pay 20p after 8pm if that were the answer. Or have a
system that works well on the continent, or here in UK clubs, where you
have someone looking after the toilets and collecting tips. It works,
and it's not as though there's a shortage of people who would gladly
take the job for some money.

Then all the yobs have to do is spend 20p to cause £2,000 damage. great.
Now unless 10,000 people used the toilet before it was damaged, there is no
money to fix it.

The whole system is ridiculous.

People wanting to vandalise is ridiculous. Toilets being closed because of
it are just a side-effect.

In the end, in pain, I managed to hold on and got the bus and persuaded
a kebab shop at the Greengate to let me use their staff-only toilet.

I'm fed up with this. I know yobs are a problem, but shutting down WCs
out of fear of the yobs just will turn ordinary folk into "yobs"
themselves. No one appears to take any responsibility. And the staff at
the station don't give a **** - they have their own toilets.

It's not out of fear, but out of accounting. It costs a lot to keep toilets
manned, and where they are not, we've all seen the damage yobs can do to
them, and someone has to foot the bill (us). Public services can't just
throw our cash around - they have a mandate to spend sensibly. I guess
there are more pressing matters than people forgetting to use the toilet
before they travel late in the evening, and being caught short.

******** to the lot of them.

******** to the yobs, more like.

dave

You want to try having IBS. Thankfully forward planning has prevented
the need to use the fetid, disease-ridden swamps that comprise most
public toilets in this country.
The London Assembly recently published a report on the stater of public
toilets in London. Presumably this is with an eye on 2012. It can be
found here under "An urgent need"

http://www.london.gov.uk/assembly/reports/health.jsp

Neill

Neil Williams wrote:
Could the provision of chargeable toilets be considered a business
opportunity? It certainly seems to be in Germany.

Can't remember if it was driving in Holland or Germany, but there were
some VERY futuristic loos at some service stations that charged 50
cents, or a Euro (can't remember now) and you got a voucher to use in
the shop, or any other place that had this chain of toilet. They were
very, very clean.

As an aside, isn't SWT saying they're going to remove up to 30 toilets
from their short-distance commuter stock to accomodate more seats. Of
course, these trains may then end up on the longer distance services
when there's a fault/stock shortage. A slippery slope! Take away
toilets on trains (or even reduce the number, bearing in mind that they
'fill up' quite quickly and will now effectively do so twice as quick)
and there will be carnage! Keep the deep clean crew on permanent
standby!

Jonathan

"Jonathan Morris" wrote in message
oups.com...

As an aside, isn't SWT saying they're going to remove up to 30 toilets
from their short-distance commuter stock to accomodate more seats. Of
course, these trains may then end up on the longer distance services
when there's a fault/stock shortage. A slippery slope! Take away
toilets on trains (or even reduce the number, bearing in mind that they
'fill up' quite quickly and will now effectively do so twice as quick)
and there will be carnage! Keep the deep clean crew on permanent
standby!

Jonathan


That is a possible risk, the 450s have 2 toilets, I guess they will leave
the train with the DDA compliant toilet only, as there are only 2 per unit.
They seem to be converting 28 out of the eventual 127 units, perhaps they
will repaint them in the 'red' inner suburban livery to assist in keeping
them on appropriate diagrams!

However the Southeastern 376s have no toilets and minimum seating, and don't
appear to have caused a media frenzy, neither have the intended 'Overground'
units based on 376s for the future NLR stock.

Paul

Jonathan Morris wrote:

Can't remember if it was driving in Holland or Germany, but there were
some VERY futuristic loos at some service stations that charged 50
cents, or a Euro (can't remember now) and you got a voucher to use in
the shop, or any other place that had this chain of toilet. They were
very, very clean.

It might be the German "McClean" chain, which is found on most railway
stations and is owned by, errm, Deutsche Bahn. Expensive, but always
clean and tidy, and in general worth the money.

As an aside, isn't SWT saying they're going to remove up to 30 toilets
from their short-distance commuter stock to accomodate more seats. Of
course, these trains may then end up on the longer distance services
when there's a fault/stock shortage. A slippery slope!

Not really. Merseyrail units do not have, and never have had, toilets.
You don't seem to see people urinating around the carriages. If
you're travelling from Southport to Chester that's quite a journey
(though you could use the loos at Moorfields or Central on changing,
and the latter are far less disgusting than they used to be).

The 455s don't have bogs, anyhow.

Neil