Public conveniences

A public toilet is a room or small building containing one or more toilets (and possibly also urinals) which is available for use by the general public, or by customers or employees of certain businesses. Public toilets are commonly separated into male and female facilities, although some can be unisex, particularly the smaller or single-occupancy types. Increasingly, public toilets are accessible to people with disabilities.

Public toilets may either be used free of charge or the user may be charged a fee. In the latter case they are also called pay toilets and sometimes have of a coin-operated turnstile.

Public toilets may be provided by the local authority or by a commercial business. They may be unattended or be staffed by a janitor or attendant. In many cultures, it is customary to tip the attendant, especially if they provide a grooming service, such as at upscale nightclubs or restaurants.

Public toilets are typically found in schools, offices, factories, and other places of work; in museums, cinemas, bars, restaurants, and other places of entertainment; in railway stations, filling stations, and on long distance public transport vehicles such as trains and planes. Portable toilets are often provided at large outdoor events. In many Asian, African and Muslim countries, public toilets are of the squat type, as this is regarded as more hygienic for a shared facility.

Public toilets are known by many names in different varieties of English. One of the more formal circumlocutions is "public convenience", as in the Guilford Place public conveniences, an architecturally valuable example.

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