Comments on: Pay Phones on Their Way Out

By: creditnine.com

creditnine.com — Sun, 08 Jul 2007 18:06:11 +0000

I cant imagine anyone using pay phones now days with the high cell phone usage going on

By: Dan

Dan — Sat, 07 Jul 2007 13:31:13 +0000

Your parents using the pay phone across the street ranks with the 60’s sitcom Green Acres where Oliver had to climb the telephone pole to answer the phone. One of my favorite parts of the show.

By: Jesse

Jesse — Sat, 07 Jul 2007 05:18:00 +0000

In the mid-80s, my folks didn’t have a home phone, they just used the pay-phone across the street, if anyone wanted to get in touch, they knew to call between a certain time period when they would be at the pay phone.

Ahh…progress.

On a related note, pagers are disappearing in hospitals too, cell phones or an in-hospital voice-paging system (vocera.)

What ever happened to the good old days? (”Paging Doctor Johnson, Doctor Johnson, please contact the Pathology Lab.”

By: rocketc

rocketc — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 20:42:27 +0000

If you don’t have a wireless, there is always someone around who will let you use their phone. The problem is, no one memorizes phone numbers anymore – they are all programmed into the phones.

By: Anitra

Anitra — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 15:09:48 +0000

I used pay phones quite a bit in highschool and college, having no other way to “phone home” (for rides when in HS, to check in with parents while in college). I got a cellphone about 4 years ago when I was almost done with college, I don’t think I’ve used a pay phone since.

I think it’s a shame they’re disappearing, though. It’s making it nearly impossible for teenagers to phone home unless their parents shell out for a cell phone.

By: PG

PG — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 13:57:11 +0000

As an employee of a huge telecom company, I’ve seen the fluctuation of pay phone usage. Obviously the number of pay phones is decreasing. Did you know that the FCC mandates a minimum number of pay phones (2) for each serving office? Pretty easy to do, even though they are not profitable. Many pay phones disappeared due to theft (people stealing the copper wires, aluminum sides, etc.). I actually own an older payphone booth with wood sides. The other technology that is diminishing is pagers. Very few people have them any more, as they too are being replaced by cell phones.

By: bluntmoney

bluntmoney — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 22:53:15 +0000

I can totally believe it. And, most of the (very few) ones I have seen recently have been out of order.

By: kitty

kitty — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 19:59:30 +0000

I do use them in Europe. The roaming charges are pretty expensive and so are the phones in the hotels. But with pre-paid cards they sell, you can call the US for pennies a minute.

By: rocketc

rocketc — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 19:43:40 +0000

I am surprised that there are even that many left. I wonder what state has the largest concentration of pay phones?

By: Hustler

Hustler — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 17:08:28 +0000

I can’t imagine using the pay phone anymore. Just like the VCR, they are going away quickly.

By: saladdin

saladdin — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 13:54:27 +0000

In the last 3 months, in my town (5k people) I have seen 5 installed at various gas stations/stores.

I’m glad too. I have never owned a cell phone and plan never to. I rank them with car payments and goats as money pits. But that is my opinion.

By: Chris

Chris — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 13:54:05 +0000

There are many times when I would have used a pay phone, but whenever I need one they are never around. I haven’t SEEN a pay phone in years. They were getting pretty expensive, too.

By: Blaine Moore

Blaine Moore — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 12:36:44 +0000

The last time that I used a pay phone was in April of this year.

They are handy to have available.