Why it's so hard to find a public toilet
Planet Money | May 2, 2025
Why is it so hard to find a bathroom when you need one?
In the U.S., we used to have lots of publicly accessible toilets. But many had locks on the doors and you had to put in a coin to use them. Pay toilets created a system of haves and have nots when it came to bathroom access. So in the 60s, movements sprung up to ban pay toilets.
Problem is: when the pay toilets went away, so too did many free public toilets.
Today on the show, how toilets exist in a legal and economic netherworld; they're not quite a public good, not quite a problem the free market can solve.
Why we're stuck, needing to go, with nowhere to go.
This episode was produced by Willa Rubin with help from James Sneed. It was edited by Marianne McCune and engineered by Cena Loffredo. It was fact-checked by Sierra Juarez. Alex Goldmark is our executive producer.
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Music: Audio Network - "Smoke Rings," "Can't Walk Away" and "Bright Crystals."
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In the U.S., we used to have lots of publicly accessible toilets. But many had locks on the doors and you had to put in a coin to use them. Pay toilets created a system of haves and have nots when it came to bathroom access. So in the 60s, movements sprung up to ban pay toilets.
Problem is: when the pay toilets went away, so too did many free public toilets.
Today on the show, how toilets exist in a legal and economic netherworld; they're not quite a public good, not quite a problem the free market can solve.
Why we're stuck, needing to go, with nowhere to go.
This episode was produced by Willa Rubin with help from James Sneed. It was edited by Marianne McCune and engineered by Cena Loffredo. It was fact-checked by Sierra Juarez. Alex Goldmark is our executive producer.
Find more Planet Money: Facebook / Instagram / TikTok / Our weekly Newsletter.
Listen free at these links: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, the NPR app or anywhere you get podcasts.
Help support Planet Money and hear our bonus episodes by subscribing to Planet Money+ in Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/planetmoney.
Music: Audio Network - "Smoke Rings," "Can't Walk Away" and "Bright Crystals."
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
NPR Privacy Policy
