Transportation

Why Don't American Subway Stations Have Public Bathrooms?

Some say it's a security measure — but others think it's a matter of money.

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By Eric Jaffe

January 3, 2013 at 9:38 AM EST

New York's MTA just released an app called "Subway Time" that lets riders know when the next train will arrive (provided you're riding the 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or S line). In honor of the app, New York magazine lists nine questions New Yorkers will never have to ask again. Some only apply if you take the subway to your wedding and/or a bank robbery. For most of us, Number 9 — which should probably be Number 1 — has a little more relevance:

The question begs the question: How come New York subway stations — or so many American subway stations in general, for that matter — lack facilities? At the World Toilet Summit from 2007, Robert Brubaker and Carol McCreary of the American Restroom Association reported "a general lack of available restrooms for users of public mass transit" in the United States [PDF]:

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