How train toilets became travelling escape rooms

// Translation of my 'How hard can it be?'-column in this weekend's de Volkskrant

I feel a mix of relief and pride as I manage to lock the toilet door in this newly renovated double-decker train. One would think that such a simple action shouldn't be too challenging, but since the Dutch railway company NS switched to electronic push buttons for operating toilet doors a few years back, their train toilets have turned into traveling escape rooms.

Back then the toilets were fitted with wider sliding doors, opening via air pressure to also accommodate for individuals with walkers, wheelchairs, or large backpacks. Now, the door itself isn't causing the door-opening-and-locking issues, but the electronic controls that came with it is.

In its first iteration, it had three push buttons: one with arrows pointing towards each other (to close the door), arrows pointing away from each other (to open the door), and a key symbol (to lock/unlock). Around these buttons, a circle would light up green or red, indicating which buttons were active.

Apart from their unfamiliar appearance, these buttons weren't located on or near the door but a bit further away. In one model, there was a urinal between the door and the buttons, and in another, they were even placed under the sink. An important design principle borrowed from Gestalt principles of visual organization is the 'law of proximity': elements that are close together are perceived as being related to each other. These toilet buttons were too far from the door to be associated with it.

During my first encounter with this type of train toilet, I looked around in amazement, desperately searching for a way to use the facilities with some amount of privacy. I later witnessed from the train's balcony how other passengers were regularly caught off guard by other travellers during their toilet visit.

The newer version of the toilet, that I am now in, is better. There are only two buttons (open/close and lock), and they are right next to the door. Unfortunately, exactly in the location where a regular toilet door would have a locking knob, there's now an emergency lever, which, due to its shape and location, I would consider to be likely to be used quite often used in non-emergency situations. Oh, and the door controls now even come with audio instructions.

It all feels like an unnecessarily complicated high-tech solution. A simpler and more understandable solution would have been a straightforward vertical lever next to the door, tilting in the direction the door needs to go and then activating the pneumatics, combined with a physical lock. Creating a more inclusive toilet is a noble goal, and a doorway that everyone can pass through is certainly part of that. However, I wouldn't also opt for a door control that is equally incomprehensible to everyone.

>> Read the full column in Dutch on the website of de Volkskrant.