I like using public transit when I’m in Chicago but when I am downtown I’m unsure of where to go to the bathroom. This is an issue no matter what large city I’m in.
There are obvious places like fast food restaurants, although some will not let you use the bathroom unless you buy something.
Aside from that, where else can you go? My sister in law says hotels usually have public restrooms. In my experience department stores (if you can find ones like Macys) do too.
Do drugstores (walgreens, CVS, etc) consistently have public restrooms? Where else can you go?
Sometimes I do end up buying things at restaurants just to use the bathroom. If you can find a mall with a food court, though, you can use the bathroom without buying anything at any of the restaurants.
What’s a fast food restaurant going to do, chase you down as you walk into the restroom? They don’t know if you’re going to buy anything afterward anyway. Once they find out, joke’s on them because you already went.
As for me, almost the only place I got is bars because unless I’m drinking, I can just wait until I get home.
Train stations, public restrooms, malls, fast food, department stores and perhaps hotels? Don’t think I’ve ever gone there. You get a bit more play with a small kid, most people would rather share than have a puddle on the floor.
A fast food joint or a cafe (or a bookstore with a cafe) someplace like that. Department stores (or big box stores) also tend to be good hassle free places to find a terlet.
In new orleans you had to use a token to open the door at one fast food place, and you only got a token if you bought something. Other places have locks which require a key to open the door.
Indoor food courts. Barnes & Noble or Borders. Trader Joe’s. Whole Foods. I briefly canvassed in Philadelphia, and I know the spots around town where I can pee for free.
Yes. Happened to me at a McDonald’s once, when I made the mistake of going into the bathroom before ordering something. I was even in the bathroom stall and everything, and before I could lock the door, it was opened by the employee chasing me and she angrily ordered me out of there.
Assuming you mean in USA, but I have a weird bathroom experience to share about Germany:
At some tourist attraction place there was a burly female bathroom attendant who would NAWT let me in without the proper coinage, as I understood it. Desperate and trying to find the right coins I finally just dumped a bunch of them in her hand and ran for it. She was still giving me the Stinkeye when I came out.
Most office buildings, especially of the skyscraper variety, have very clean and easily accessible restrooms on each floor, including the ground floor.
Oh, forgot to mention: you can also find bathrooms in university buildings. And they usually let pretty much anyone into a university building, at least during normal school hours (and sometimes on weekends.)