Travel Technology: Traffic Lights in Public Bathrooms

Where to go next: Tooshlights is the newest thing in traffic management, eliminating the need (forgive the pun) to peek under the doors of bathroom stalls to find an empty one, or guess which will be available next.

The manufacturer claims the red light/green light system speeds up the bathroom line by 50%

That’s especially important in airports, where bathrooms get backed up (forgive this pun, too) at particular times, such as when a large plane just landed, and at intermission.

You can add in intermission at theaters and concert venues, as well as convention centers.

The bathroom management system has just been installed in more than 20 restrooms in American Airlines’ Terminal 4 at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).

It’s a larger, more visible, and more high-tech version of the tiny “vacant” or “in use” tabs on many public bathrooms, including on airplanes.

Equally important, the new digital system keeps track of the number of people who use a bathroom and particular stall, and alerts a janitor to clean it when it has reached what is described in corporate-speak as a “specific passenger usage threshold”.  In other words, time to clean it and restock the toilet paper.

According to an Airport Council International (ACI) Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Survey, overcrowded and inefficient airport bathrooms are one of the top complaints by LAX passengers.

Smart restroom techology does’t stop at stall availability.

Airports, stadiums ad other high-traffic public spaces also are upgrading sink areas with touch-free fixtures and high-speed hand dryers, which can help move people through restrooms more efficiently while also reducing paper towel waste and maintenance needs.

Tooshlights works in conjunction with the Infax SmartRestroom system, to light up your wait.

Infax’s SmartRestroom pilot program was adopted by Houston Airport System in 2017, separate from Tooshlights, and has since expanded to additional airports and to convention centers.  There’s no word, in conversational English or in corporate-speak, whether those pilot systems will add Tooshlights.

More corporate-speak from Tooshlights, which claims proudly on its website, “Our intent is to revolutionize the human/building interface”  Whatever that means.

I don’t like the corporate-speak, but I do love the product name.

You gotta love something called Tooshlights, even if you think it’s an unnecessary additional digital intrusion in our lives.

LAX is the first airport in the world to implement the system, and plans to expand it to other restrooms and terminals used by other airlines.

Both the manufacturer and the airport are seeking feedback from users.

What do you think?  Do we need traffic lights in the bathroom?

I’m headed to LAX soon, and it just might be worth flying American Airlines just to test out the new bathroom traffic lights