Living in the suburbs I was always about a five minute car ride from a bathroom because every gas station and fast food joint will let you use their bathroom. Here it is a whole new story. There are not many places to stop in and use the bathroom. Most the bathrooms here have large signs that say FOR CUSTOMERS ONLY!
Beyond the lack of bathrooms available to the public is the fact that you can't just stop the train when you need to go like you can pull your car over. These two factors together make it apparent that my mom was right, you should always try before you leave because you don't want to have to use the subway station bathroom.
If you are in the city and do need a place to go there is an app for that. Check out Sit or Squat for ratings on the cleanest bathrooms around you.
