The City of London Corporation has made £122,792.15 in the last year by charging tourists and Londoners 50p to use public toilets at Tower Place, next door to the famous landmark and Tower Bridge.
The local authority has been trialling contactless payments at the toilets over the past 12 months and it has been making up to £17,000 a month.
The toilets were used three times as much in November 2022 than in October 2021 as London continues to bounce back from the pandemic.
Since 2010 the City of London Corporation has charged Londoners and tourists for using toilet at Tower Place and Paternoster Square, close to St Paul’s Cathedral. Entry has been 50p since then.
Disabled residents are able to access the toilets for free using Radar keys. The special keys allow disabled people access to more than 10,000 disabled toilets across the country.
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The City of London has now introduced cashless payments at the toilet due to the pandemic.
A report into the toilet trial said: “Society is using less cash with many retail, transport, and hospitality venues no longer accepting any cash payments.
“The use of contactless payment systems accelerated during the pandemic as it was seen as a more hygienic method of payment. Staff at the Corporation’s toilets were receiving more requests for contactless payments post-pandemic.
“The Corporation has implemented contactless payment systems at other sites where the adoption has been successful.”
Other areas such as Brighton and Hove, Lambeth, York, The Scottish Borders and Welsh Coasts have also brought in similar contactless schemes.
An initial two-month trial took place at the toilets between November 2021 and December 2021. It was extended for a further ten months to provide a more data to see the impact of Covid on people using the toilets.
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