Paying to use a public toilet in germany?

Question

when I went to germany, there were places where I had to pay money in order to use the public toilet, is this common in germany or is it just in the part where I went through

Answer 1

Most public bathrooms in Germany expect at least a tip--that's what the little white dish with the coins is for.  The usual expected amount is at least 30-50 euro cents.  Some of the more high-tech places, or high-traffic places, have machines that charge you before you enter--those are usually 50 cents.  That's quite normal, and should be expected--and many other European countries do it.  The tips are ultimately for the poor souls who spend all day keeping those bathrooms clean... in the case of the typical white-dish-tip bathrooms, it's always considerate to tip more the minimum if you can... and it's never cool to go in, do your business, and bounce out without leaving something in the dish.

Answer 2

There used to be tons of public pay toilets in the U.S. - mostly in places like bus and train stations, airports, some hotels and motels, public attractions. I remember these as a kid.

I think there was such a public outrage that they finally removed them all. It would not surprise me that other countries still have these.

Answer 3

Yes, that is very normal since they opened the border in 1989, it became a money making county - unfortunately, good life is over.

Answer 4

some places do, some don't

i personally think its crazy.

Answer 5

most places in CA already have these so called waxed paper you can use on the seat :D~ i certainly cuts down on the lines if you have to pay. no wait time.

Answer 6

Yes, this is very common... it's a modern update on the former practice of having an attendant in the bathroom, which is the way things used to be. The attendant was supposed to keep the place clean and offer help to any "visitors" if needed--e.g. sometimes they hand you the paper towel after washing your hands, or something.  There was a dish on the counter where you were supposed to leave a bit of 'kleingeld' (change) for the attendant-- back in the old days,  between 50 pfennig and 1 DM.

I do have to agree, tho-- the bathrooms are much cleaner & better maintained for it.   And I've never had a problem with it-- except for when I didn't have the right change.  ;oP

Answer 7

I am not sure if it's a new invention, but it is true that you have to pay almost for every public toilet you want to use. If you drive on the autobahn and you need to go every stop which has a toilet will charge. Usually it's around 0.20 - 0.50 Euros.

I personally think this is ridiculous and I am shocked that not too many people complain about this. I also don't think that those toilets are necesssarily cleaner than others.

Answer 8

Yes, this is the "newest" invention to rip people off. I hate that very much and I am German. It can cost you up to 0.50 Euro to pee !!! I think it's outrageous!!!

Answer 9

when i was in Germay visiting my grandmother.I had to pay for the bathroom everywhere I went,it was only like .50 cents.Also when you go shopping at most places you have to pay for a bag to put your items in.Its not like Wal-Mart or the Mall where they just give you a plastic bag to put your stuff in.But every country is diffrent,you just have to deal with there ways.

Answer 10

I, too, remember a local department store which had pay toilets.  I believe the charge helped to cover the cost of keeping the room clean for customers and defrayed the cost of toilet paper, etc.

In Europe, I find that the pay toilets tend to be cleaner.  I've even seen some (i.e. on the Autobahn) that have real, live attendants who collect from you as you enter the facility.

I don't complain about paying for those facilities - have you been into a washroom at a WalMart or K-Mart lately?  Our local ones are disgusting and are often lacking supplies.

Answer 11

Unfortunately, that is becoming the practice for most of the public toilets here in Germany. If I go to visit my parents (who live about a hundred miles away), every public toilet charges 50 Euro-Cent!!! First, the toilets at the Autobahn-gas stations were rent out to a group called "Sanifair". You can't get in unless you pay your way through a kind of "revolving door", and you can get a little coupon you can "redeem" at the refreshment shop of the gas station. Which is ridiculous, because things at Autobahn-refreshment shops are so overpriced, and I don't really need refreshments when I'm just driving 100 miles. Sometimes I do need a bathroom, though!!!

Well, now that every toilet directly at the Autobahn belongs to the "Sanifair" group, all the off-autobahn public toilets along that route charge 50 Euro Cent, too (needless to say: they are not as clean, and you don't get coupons you can redeem, either).

I usually collect the coupons and redeem them when I do need  a refreshment on longer drives, and until now I never had anyone refuse the older coupons, even though it says on them that you can only redeem them the same day you "collected" them.

What really bugs me, though, is that because even places like  the "Stachus"-U-Bahnhof in Munich now has a public "Sanifair" toilet which is open all the time, usually. The city closed down the older public toilets there because of this, but when my friend and I really needed a toilet (OK, it was New Years eve, but still) neither of the toilets was open and people were doing their business everywhere and the whole place stank. I wouldn't have minded to pay 2 Euros than, just to have somewhere save and clean to go. With two Euros per person, they could also probably have paid some security people for the night.

And what really is ridiculous is that I even saw people being charged for using the bathroom of a McDo. That actually is illegal, because every restaurant/Cafe/what-have-you that has seating available for their customers HAS to have toilets for them, free of charge. Grrrrr..... They are just trying to get money from us every way they possibly can think of.

Answer 12

Well, you'll see many a German guy peeing in the bushes; that's what makes a man, according to German belief. In fact, if you don't pee in the bushes (or behind a public toilet, for that instance), you'll be considered a weenie. And the very last thing a real man would do is insert a coin somewhere to use a toilet.

In my community's largest village, which is just about a mile to walk through, they have two public toilets where you don't have to pay for, and they're nice and clean, but are closed during night hours and weekends, as some homeless or, more probably, teenagers have caused some damage to them which made the town close them down. That's also the main reason why there's mostly a charge on using public toilets (which is mostly 50 euro-cents, but can be 1 euro and more): The damage is done by irresponsible people. Just because you're annoyed about the service of German railways, you don't destroy a sink and tap in a public bathroom at the station, would you? But things like this happen. So more and more places start charging for the use of their toilets, to compensate for the damage.

Answer 13

Yes but not every where and it is also common through out Europe as well not just Germany.

Answer 14

It's very common in many parts of Europe. Most are much cleaner than the free ones in the US though!

Answer 15

You'll find that rest stops without gas station are free, if there is a gas station or restaurant (on the Autobahn) you'll have to pay. Almost all public toilets in Germany are coin operated, with the exception of very few public toilets located in the town hall. You don't have to pay in a restaurant, unless of course you're not a customer - then  you're (pardon the pun) sh*t out of luck.

Answer 16

Same in Czech Republic (Prague). You have to pay a little fee, but it is worth it: every place I went toilets were spotless!

After all, somebody's got to do the cleaning, and they must get paid.