Why Don’t Petrol Stations Have Toilets?
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If you know us—and because you’re reading this article we know you do—then you know that we love a road trip. The wind in your hair (stick your head out the window if you don’t have a convertible), just heading out and going on a good old-fashioned journey.
Along the way, you’re bound to see many things, with numerous roadside wonders to explore at will. In between all that of course, you’ll have to stop by one of the many roadside petrol stations (gas stations if you’re visiting us from the United States) to fill up on petrol, and road trip snacks.
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Google tells us that there are many people out there—intrepid travellers it seems—seem to be of the opinion that Australian petrol stations don’t have toilets attached. But is this the case?
Hitting the road myself along Australia’s highways and backroads, I’ve found that most of the time you will actually find a toilet/restroom attached to a servo, and it’s a dead-set certainty if that petrol station is alongside a freeway with fast food outlets attached. You will find the odd servo out in the wilderness though without a toilet, or if they do have one, it’s probably not in the best shape, or the owner has conveniently lost the key.
A lot of the confusion seems to come from the fact that 7-Eleven in 2019 stopped building restroom facilities for the general public on new and renovated petrol stations going forward. Concerned customer Peter Pilt had a response from 7-Eleven customer service that they “no longer provide toilets due to the fact that they handle dangerous products and may endanger their customers.” Quite the bow to draw.
If you are worried about finding a public toilet on your journey afar, don’t worry, the Australian Government has you covered. Head to toiletmap.gov.au to find any public toilet near your location.