Automated Public Toilet

U feel like you have stepped into another world inside this washroom. Relaxing sounds and a woman who talks to u. The sounds scared my child though! Worth the quarter when u really gotta go. But even though u know the door is locked, u wonder if it might fly open and the whole city will get a free show!

Toronto’s first automated public toilet is nothing to laugh about. At $ 400,000 each, these automated public toilets should be able to teleport across the country so that you can do your deeds overlooking the BC waterfront (at the moment this is where I want to be) or anywhere else your heart desires.
Alas, this washroom doesn’t do anything like that. It is, an overpriced washroom.
The washroom, when I first heard about it, was described as similar to a bus shelter, minus the see through windows and I can’t think of a better description. If you didn’t know it was there you might actually walk by, oblivious to the $ 400,000 investment.
The operation is simple. You pay a quarter, and the washroom opens up. While you’re in there, there is soft music and a lady’s voice that tells you you have 20 minutes max to do anything you need to. For $ 400,000, it would have been great if they had programmed the voice to also encourage you an cheer you on, especially in the last 5 minutes. Some of us thrive on positive reinforcement.
The washroom is efficient where it gives up on aesthetics, which is alright for me but if someone is there for 20 minutes, it may be interesting to put in some flowers and a magazine. Or better yet, with a $ 400,000 investment, make it a flight simulator as well or a pod racing simulator (you know, those pod things in star wars!)
Many outreach programs I believe were going to be handing out tokens so homeless people can use the washroom. I thought it interesting about how the homeless would react to it. I had expected there to be people camped out there, peddling or requesting donations. Its the perfect pitch point. If you really need to use it, then they would have a captive audience in you, who wants to use the loo. Once you are in, they have you for minimum 5 minutes and max 20 minutes for them to give their sales pitch from outside. I don’t know, I think Im on to something but what to sell.
Jokes aside, the city did think of who would use this and the hours of operations are from 8am to 11pm so no late night relief after the bar, but also it will act as a deterrent from homeless making it their home.
I tried researching what happens after 20 minutes, as I never stuck around to find out. The washroom does sanitize itself, and if it is like the ones in Paris, if you stayed past the max time, you would be sanitized as well.
I think these could be a great revenue stream for the city, but at a quarter per use, and its location at the harbour front (queens quay and rees st.) the traffic isn’t enough to justify a $ 400,000 investment. Originally there were supposed to be 20 toilets, but so far, I’ve only heard of and seen this one.
So while it is great to say we have and that I have used an automated washroom, I took off 3 stars because there are 3 more 0s on the investment than it was probably worth…