LONDON - A new service promises Londoners they'll never have to spend much time looking for the loo. Westminster City Council, which covers London's bustling Oxford Street, the West End, Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, on Thursday launched "SatLav" a toilet-finding service for cell phone users.
Tourists, theatergoers, shoppers and pub patrons in London's West End can now text the word "toilet" and receive a text back with the address of the nearest public facility.
The system, which covers 40 public toilets, pinpoints the caller's position by measuring the strength of the phone signal. The texts cost about 50 cents, and most of Westminster's toilets are free.
The council said it hopes the service will stop people from urinating in alleyways, saying some 10,000 gallons of urine ends up in Westminster streets each year.
Companies such as Vindigo Inc. in the U.S. offers similar cell phone searches but SatLav is being touted as the first text-based toilet-finder in Britain.
"It's the first fully managed service that we're aware of," British Toilet Association director Richard Chisnell said, praising the council.
"Thank heavens for Westminster's public toilets," he said.
we were talking the other day about people urinating in alleyways.
I think this is an awesome idea though...great for non residents who have no idea where the nearest toilets are....
In many European countries there are very few public toilets and when you need to go, it is expected that you will walk into a pub or hotel or cafe and use one there. But in this country most establishments do not allow this unless you are a customer, so you have to go seeking out public toilets. elsewhere.
Speaking of toilets they were the only drawback I found when in the States in August. They were plentiful, they were clean, they were kept well in stock of toilet paper, soap and hand-towles etc...but hey what's with the doors? I felt very self conscious as my knickers tumbled around my ankles...for all to potentially see...but it didn't spoil my stay and in fact watch out - we're heading back in April for more
Well generally they don't go all the way down. but certainly lower than all the ones i encountered in Florida. Being rather large I like to let the knickers go right down but didn't want to show the world... (so I whipped em right off!!!) But it was so hot over there that it was a fight putting em back on lol and a little trip for a little wee exhausted me for sure!
but didn't want to show the world... (so I whipped em right off!!!)
