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New York City Gives the Public Bathroom a Tap Card

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New York City Gives the Public Bathroom a Tap Card

New York City has found a new use for the tap card: opening a public toilet.

The city is installing 17 modular bathrooms across its five boroughs. Visitors can unlock a door with a text message, QR code, app or card. The bathrooms are free, which may come as a relief to anyone who has ever bought an unwanted coffee solely to obtain a restroom code.

There is a distinctly New York urgency to the project. City officials say the city has roughly 1,000 public bathrooms for more than 8 million residents, plus everyone else passing through. A restroom may be available somewhere nearby. Finding it when you need it is another matter.

The new units have flushing toilets, running water, climate control and baby-changing stations. They will open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. The city has committed $4 million to a one-year pilot, with installation running from mid-September into October. Throne Labs, a company whose name needs no explanation, will operate and clean them.

The doors introduce a small test of modern life. Your phone can summon a car, order dinner and move money across borders. Now it can answer a more immediate call. According to the city’s access instructions, a visitor can text “Throne” and the unit number to unlock the door. Scanning the QR code starts a prewritten text. The app shows nearby units, availability and cleanliness ratings.

The tap card may be the most thoughtful part of the design. Local partners will distribute it for free, giving people without a smartphone or a charged battery another way in.


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