Shiny New Free Toilets in Samara Have a Catch
Samara video blogger Yevgeny Shchyokin checked out the shiny toilets recently installed in tourist areas of the city. They are free, the blogger found out, but you need to tap a bank card to enter.
Inside, it was clean, warm, and nice. After exiting, the blogger tried to enter again. The door was locked. Neither with a card nor without one would the toilet let him back in.
‘And here’s the nuance. When I exited the toilet, I tapped my card again, opened the door, and didn’t go in. There’s no one inside, but the system shows “occupied.” It’s been half an hour already,’ Yevgeny summed up.
Let’s thank the brave toilet tester and hope the bug gets fixed soon.
Recall that the shiny new facilities were installed on the initiative of the Samara Oblast Ministry of Tourism. They are intended to make life easier for tourists and city residents.
Four two-section silver toilets are already operating:
- near the River Station;
- next to Literary Square;
- in Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin Square;
- a separate modern automated sanitary complex on Leningradskaya Street.
‘In the near future, we plan to equip each structure with special visual signs with instructions for use, which will make using the infrastructure simple and intuitive for any visitor,’ promised the Samara Oblast Ministry of Tourism.
The Samara mayor’s office reassured: the toilet is free, the card is only needed as an electronic key. They won’t charge you any money, but without that piece of plastic, the door won’t budge.
