Tooshlights: Improving your public restroom experience at Hollywood Bowl

The idea behind Tooshlight is simple. Green means go, red means don’t. For anyone who’s ever been behind the wheel of a car, these symbols are intuitive. What happens when you take this simple concept and apply it to the problem of long bathroom lines? You get Tooshlight, the restroom traffic directors of the future.

We spoke with co-founder Allen Klevens, who says he’s “gone from the music business into the bathroom business.”

The (green) lightbulb moment

Tooshlight is a company that wants to expedite, modernize and improve the public restroom experience, and they are starting in Los Angeles at the Hollywood bowl.

The idea came to fruition after a Hollywood Bowl patron complained in a letter about the length of restroom lines. The Hollywood Bowl then reached out to Klevens and his business partner Todd Bermann for a solution.

The Tooshlight system makes it easier for event-goers to determine which bathroom stalls are occupied, and which are not.

Klevens says that Tooshlight was created to prevent restroom back-up, which often occurs at large gatherings such as concerts or sporting events.

The technology

The Tooshlight is comprised of two simple components, a modified locking mechanism, and a light, the color of which reacts to the position of the lock. If a stall is locked, the light above will shine red. If a stall is unlocked and available, the light will shine green.

This technology saves people time when searching for stalls, and gets them in and out of line more quickly. It also allows proprietors to measure which restrooms are being used most, an effective tool for event planning.

However, one of the Tooshlight’s greatest benefits is that it brings restroom-goers a sense of security says Kleven.

The feedback

Kleven says he overheard a group of women discussing the speed with which they were able to get through the line and to the restroom. “You could hear the women walking out, still talking about it after they’d already left the stall.”

There is a second rendition of the Tooshlight in production now, with lights of different colors, combinations and meanings, that can be adjusted to suit any environment. "We're conquering whether it's stadiums, arenas, college, NBA, NHL, libraries, airports, convention centers," said Kleven.