Have to pee in Budapest? Then you are in trouble
Of the functioning public toilets, only 23 are available free of charge.
Activists of The City is for All (A Város Mindenkié – AVM) undertook to walk to all the public toilets of Budapest, and their conclusions paint a rather bleak picture. According to their announcement, a quarter of the 128 public toilets in Budapest that were listed is closed, ruined, and non-functioning. Based on their research, there are currently 91 functioning public toilets in Budapest. 23 of them can be used free of charge; the others are usually available for a fee of HUF 180-250, writes hvg.hu.
The announcement notes that the districts’ municipalities maintain public toilets mainly by considering tourism aspects and adapting to public transport hubs. There are several municipalities that do not operate any public toilets. According to AVM,
at least 150 free and accessible public toilets open 24/7 would be needed in Budapest.
They also point out that most of the public toilets currently functioning are unaffordable for families living in poverty and homeless people. According to the group, the problem of public toilets in the capital can be considered solved if everyone, regardless of their income situation, has the opportunity to use the services.
They sent their proposals concerning public toilets to the Budapest Municipality and to all of Budapest’s district municipalities.
Since there are few options to go to the toilet, it may be important to know where a toilet is closest in a certain location. A new app was developed by a high school in Zugló which can be used to find the nearest public toilet in Budapest. The application called Budipest was created by Dániel Gergely, a student of Petrik Lajos Technical School. He revealed that he had long wanted to create such an app. He said
he believes that such civic initiatives make Budapest a greater city.
Budipest shows not only public toilets but also units that allow the use of the restrooms regardless of consumption.
Source: hvg.hu