The Moscow metro has opened its first ever public toilet, the Russian News Service reported on Friday.
The toilet is located in the Prospekt Mira metro station on the Circle Line. A Troika public transport card is needed to access the toilet, though its use is free.
The head of a website devoted to the subject of public toilets, Vladimir Priorov, told local news site The Village that the Moscow metro's usual response to inquiries about the lack of toilets is that they would violate sanitation standards in the metro.
No explanation was given explaining the sudden change of heart, but Russian News Service reported that the toilet was modeled on those found in other subway systems around the world.
Children under the age of 12 cannot use the toilet, which resembles those found on airplanes, without a supervising adult, the report said. The entrance to the toilet is under video surveillance, and the maximum period of use is 10 minutes — though it was not immediately clear how this would be enforced.
The toilet was supposed to be unveiled on Moscow's City Day holiday two weeks ago, but that deadline was missed, Russian News Service reported.
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