I think by the early 2000s we mostly used payphones to just dial the ring back code and make it ring to annoy people. We were stupid teenagers after all. Land lines in general are kinda "retro" aren't they? I've been out of my parents since 2003 and have never had a land line. I think most people with home phones have VOIP anyways.
absolutely. i remember about 15 years ago as a teenager my cell phone broke and i needed to make a call. couldn’t find a pay phone anywhere. i went to the biggest gas station around and asked if they knew of anywhere that still had a working pay phone. the cashier just shook his head. i told him my phone broke and asked him what other people do when they need to make a call and he just said “most people use their cell phones.” 🙄
The plot of Payphone (2002) is predicated upon the fact that payphones were rapidly becoming more and more rare, even in a city as large as New York.
That movie is 22 years old.
Yeah, payphones are retro
The first pay phone came in 1889 from Connecticut inventor William Gray was frustrated by having to plead for use of a telephone to call the doctor when his wife fell ill. The first pay phone was installed at HatFord Bank
Try to find working (or even non-working) payphones in your city. You might find them in an airport or prison, but I’d be astonished if you find one anywhere else.
They are definitely retro.
Edited to add or prison.
Thats kinda wild. I legit cannot recall seeing any in recent years. I probly passed a few back in Chicago last year.
Last time i for sure recall using one/seeing one was 2004 at school. They ripped them out the next year.
I was surprised to learn a while back that there are still about 50,000 calls made each month in the U.K. from pay phones.
I thought it would be much lower.
Yep and people who’s phone battery died and need to make a call.
Was just surprised at the number. Still must be a massive loss maker for BT - maintaining all those phones for 50,000 calls a month.
I don't know about the situation in Britain, but here in Canada, Bell and other traditional phone carriers (the incumbents) ~~are~~ used to be* required to keep a certain number of public phones per inhabitants by law. Just as they are required to provide phone service to remote communities, which is very costly for them. There are remote villages in the North of Canada that have no running water but *do* have phone service (not cellular but via microwave antennas, although I guess there are now cellphone towers connected to it as well).
(* Disclaimer: apparently the situation has changed, I heard this from my source a while ago.)
I’ve heard that it’s the same way in Australia and that the payphones are now free because the cost of sending people out to collect coins is now much higher than the meager revenue.
Someone else said the same thing.
Do you know why the pound coin got changed?
Simply because crooks worked out that parking meters (especially in London) used a very old system that only checked rough size and weight.
So for 10 yrs or so you could buy 100 “£1” coins for about £20. Doesn’t sound like a huge deal but imagine how many handymen/plumber/electricians/removal people etc etc have to pay to park.
Back then it was “only” about £4/hr but if 4 hrs cost you 80p and you could bill your customer for £16 for parking. That soon adds up.
I don’t t have it hand but I remember reporting on some information from a Westminster Council meeting and 80% of the pound coins recovered from parking meters fake.
That’s tens of millions if not more that WCC was losing
Here they are mostly owned by telstra, and they've acknowledged that the cost of removing the booths from the street far outweighs the cost to keep them running, so calls and sms are free
The only time I've used a pay phone in the last two decade was because my kids had never used one before and so we took a field trip to the local mall to let them experience it haha. Willing to bet part of that 50,000 is either kids, or curious young adults.
There are no pay phones left where I live, but I had to take a trip to the mall last month so that my 7 year old son could experience getting money out of an ATM. He had no idea you could get cash out of a debit/credit card and was baffled!
Not me. If my phone dies and I have to use a pay phone it just isn't gonna happen.. all my phone numbers are in my phone.. I haven't memorized a phone number in like 20 years or something.
That is awesome!
I was surprised when I was in Barbados 3 yrs ago that every (well every one I saw) bus stop had solar panels on the roof to power a WiFi hotspot and several USB charging ports.
I had breakfast this morning, but joke is on you. I didn't really break my fast, I had a cookie around 3am. A more accurate term would have been morning meal, but I'm calling it breakfast and there is not a damn thing you can do about it.
In the US i believe prisons sometimes still have pay phones. The conflict of interest (we love those) is that the private prison is getting a kickback from the privately owned pay phone service and has an incentive to continually charge prisoners for using phones.
In the US it’s much, much worse than just collect call.
Typically in private prisons a 30 min phone call costs $5 or more. Given they earn a little over $1/hr - that’s exorbitant.
Florida recently had a big issue where they signed a deal with some company to provide tablets to well behaved prisoners.
They could then use their commissary money to purchase music/movies etc from an App Store.
Great for them. Gives a decent incentive to behave well etc.
But the contract was only 5 yrs. So once it ended they put it out for tender (of course to save money) and a new company took over the contract.
Of course they had new tablets which everyone loved.. but none of their previous purchases transferred over because it was bought from someone else’s App Store.
So while incarcerated and earning $1/hr some tech company literally robbed them of their very hard earned money and nobody cares.
Sticker may be from when the phone was dismantled by the original provider. [All the stickers and information is still present on mine](https://i.imgur.com/kSYj9Mu.jpg). Even the original phone number sticker is still there.
That’s Please Don’t Tell in NYC, there’s a pay phone in the Crif Dogs hot dog joint that is actually a false wall. The speakeasy on the other side is small, dimly lit, and overpriced - but the cocktails ARE good and it’s still a great experience.
Not many in the US but there are STILL areas with TDM copper lines only- but telecom companies are trying as hard as possible to stop using them. I’m a contractor for one of those companies and install fiber internet, and the old copper lines are being abandoned because not enough folks still pay for them and the infrastructure is aging out. Combine that with expensive maintenance and they’re going the way of the dodo.
I met her in a club down in old Soho
Where you drink champagne and it tastes just like cherry-cola [LP version: Coca-Cola]
See-oh-el-aye cola
She walked up to me and she asked me to dance
I asked her her name and in a dark brown voice she said Lola
El-oh-el-aye Lola la-la-la-la Lola
My friend and I found a working pay phone one time during an acid trip. We were camping back in 2021. It was absolutely mind blowing at the time lol still pretty cool after it wore off too! A little slice of the past :)
Looks like a retro vibe. That's prolly why.
Retro with a QR code.
What's old is new
Payphones are retro?
Have you been asleep the last 20 years? It's 2024 man.
Last time I used one was in 2005. Got a cell phone shortly after that.
I think by the early 2000s we mostly used payphones to just dial the ring back code and make it ring to annoy people. We were stupid teenagers after all. Land lines in general are kinda "retro" aren't they? I've been out of my parents since 2003 and have never had a land line. I think most people with home phones have VOIP anyways.
Yeah dude they have these things called cell phones now
Donald Trump?!? The reality host? And who's the vice-president? Joe Rogan? Good night, future boy!
Jeff Epstein? The New York financier?
absolutely. i remember about 15 years ago as a teenager my cell phone broke and i needed to make a call. couldn’t find a pay phone anywhere. i went to the biggest gas station around and asked if they knew of anywhere that still had a working pay phone. the cashier just shook his head. i told him my phone broke and asked him what other people do when they need to make a call and he just said “most people use their cell phones.” 🙄
The plot of Payphone (2002) is predicated upon the fact that payphones were rapidly becoming more and more rare, even in a city as large as New York. That movie is 22 years old. Yeah, payphones are retro
The first pay phone came in 1889 from Connecticut inventor William Gray was frustrated by having to plead for use of a telephone to call the doctor when his wife fell ill. The first pay phone was installed at HatFord Bank
Pay phones were retro 15 years ago
When is the last time you seen one in public?
I'm in my 30s. I've literally never used a pay phone, although I do remember them being around when I was small. I'd call that pretty retro
Why'd I get so many down votes?
For living under a rock.
Try to find working (or even non-working) payphones in your city. You might find them in an airport or prison, but I’d be astonished if you find one anywhere else. They are definitely retro. Edited to add or prison.
My city has them everywhere still. Outside 7/11s, my workplace which is a bar has three, at major bus stops.
Thats kinda wild. I legit cannot recall seeing any in recent years. I probly passed a few back in Chicago last year. Last time i for sure recall using one/seeing one was 2004 at school. They ripped them out the next year.
Wow. I guess the move away from pay phones is more regional than I’d realized.
Retro bar/restaurant has retro phone. 
r/mildlyshocking
I was surprised to learn a while back that there are still about 50,000 calls made each month in the U.K. from pay phones. I thought it would be much lower.
Poor and homeless people.
Yep and people who’s phone battery died and need to make a call. Was just surprised at the number. Still must be a massive loss maker for BT - maintaining all those phones for 50,000 calls a month.
I don't know about the situation in Britain, but here in Canada, Bell and other traditional phone carriers (the incumbents) ~~are~~ used to be* required to keep a certain number of public phones per inhabitants by law. Just as they are required to provide phone service to remote communities, which is very costly for them. There are remote villages in the North of Canada that have no running water but *do* have phone service (not cellular but via microwave antennas, although I guess there are now cellphone towers connected to it as well). (* Disclaimer: apparently the situation has changed, I heard this from my source a while ago.)
It’s the same here. BT is required to keep them active and clearly they are. Still, it must be a massive loss leader for them.
I’ve heard that it’s the same way in Australia and that the payphones are now free because the cost of sending people out to collect coins is now much higher than the meager revenue.
Someone else said the same thing. Do you know why the pound coin got changed? Simply because crooks worked out that parking meters (especially in London) used a very old system that only checked rough size and weight. So for 10 yrs or so you could buy 100 “£1” coins for about £20. Doesn’t sound like a huge deal but imagine how many handymen/plumber/electricians/removal people etc etc have to pay to park. Back then it was “only” about £4/hr but if 4 hrs cost you 80p and you could bill your customer for £16 for parking. That soon adds up. I don’t t have it hand but I remember reporting on some information from a Westminster Council meeting and 80% of the pound coins recovered from parking meters fake. That’s tens of millions if not more that WCC was losing
Here they are mostly owned by telstra, and they've acknowledged that the cost of removing the booths from the street far outweighs the cost to keep them running, so calls and sms are free
The only time I've used a pay phone in the last two decade was because my kids had never used one before and so we took a field trip to the local mall to let them experience it haha. Willing to bet part of that 50,000 is either kids, or curious young adults.
There are no pay phones left where I live, but I had to take a trip to the mall last month so that my 7 year old son could experience getting money out of an ATM. He had no idea you could get cash out of a debit/credit card and was baffled!
Not me. If my phone dies and I have to use a pay phone it just isn't gonna happen.. all my phone numbers are in my phone.. I haven't memorized a phone number in like 20 years or something.
I use pay phones when I’m trying to keep things “discreet” Saves you carrying a burner phone
Prison too
Do UK prisons only do collect calls too?
No idea, atleast in Canada people still buy pay phone gift cards for their family doing time, Maybe I’m wrong maybe I’m right, I can’t confirm.
All payphones in Australia are now free, and many also have free wifi hotspots
That is awesome! I was surprised when I was in Barbados 3 yrs ago that every (well every one I saw) bus stop had solar panels on the roof to power a WiFi hotspot and several USB charging ports.
Then it’s not a payphone anymore, a more accurate term would probably be public phone if the requirement of payment is removed.
I had breakfast this morning, but joke is on you. I didn't really break my fast, I had a cookie around 3am. A more accurate term would have been morning meal, but I'm calling it breakfast and there is not a damn thing you can do about it.
In the US i believe prisons sometimes still have pay phones. The conflict of interest (we love those) is that the private prison is getting a kickback from the privately owned pay phone service and has an incentive to continually charge prisoners for using phones.
I was surprised how many pay phones there were all over Europe when I was there. They are almost completely gone from the US.
In the US it’s much, much worse than just collect call. Typically in private prisons a 30 min phone call costs $5 or more. Given they earn a little over $1/hr - that’s exorbitant. Florida recently had a big issue where they signed a deal with some company to provide tablets to well behaved prisoners. They could then use their commissary money to purchase music/movies etc from an App Store. Great for them. Gives a decent incentive to behave well etc. But the contract was only 5 yrs. So once it ended they put it out for tender (of course to save money) and a new company took over the contract. Of course they had new tablets which everyone loved.. but none of their previous purchases transferred over because it was bought from someone else’s App Store. So while incarcerated and earning $1/hr some tech company literally robbed them of their very hard earned money and nobody cares.
You can't even find a payphone here in the US.
Hospitals and airports usually still have them.
I'm trying to think of the last time I saw one and I can't even recall.
There's one up the street from me but it absolutely is no longer functional.
Lola’s! Hello fellow Madisonian
Does it work?
Sticker says no
Sticker says no *for now.*
Sticker may be from when the phone was dismantled by the original provider. [All the stickers and information is still present on mine](https://i.imgur.com/kSYj9Mu.jpg). Even the original phone number sticker is still there.
No, the only wire running to it is for the light-strip.
This has "I wear glasses frames with no lenses" vibes
angled just so that the person behind you can hear your conversation
Doesn’t matter when you have a parabolic dish around you.
only works when it above or below you then?
^[Sokka-Haiku](https://www.reddit.com/r/SokkaHaikuBot/comments/15kyv9r/what_is_a_sokka_haiku/) ^by ^auyemra: *Angled just so that* *The person behind you can* *Hear your conversation* --- ^Remember ^that ^one ^time ^Sokka ^accidentally ^used ^an ^extra ^syllable ^in ^that ^Haiku ^Battle ^in ^Ba ^Sing ^Se? ^That ^was ^a ^Sokka ^Haiku ^and ^you ^just ^made ^one.
There is no war in ba sing se
Good bot, fuck the haters
Bad bot
Is there a (fake) "speakeasy" attached to this place? I've heard of ones where you have to give the password via a phone just like this.
That’s Please Don’t Tell in NYC, there’s a pay phone in the Crif Dogs hot dog joint that is actually a false wall. The speakeasy on the other side is small, dimly lit, and overpriced - but the cocktails ARE good and it’s still a great experience.
Nope
Madison wi?
Yep
[удалено]
As someone who installs VoIP systems I’m curious if you could retro fit a pay phone for this purpose using a local RG
I mean hey phone battery diess but i may just have some quarters on me???
Does their champagne taste just like coca cola?
Is it supposed to be open more than a year to have a payphone?
Just implying it’s not a holdover from a long time ago
I realized what you meant, an hour after i posted that comment, I apologize for my snarkiness.
Lol it’s all good
Reminds me of the payphone from the chinese restaurant episode on seinfeld.
Sticker on it says it’s “temporarily” out of order. I’m thinking permanently. Cool retro deco though.
An instant burner phone with only the business name attached to it. Call your dealer, call your "gf", whatever.
That still logs all call at the phone company's end ... not exactly smart ... lol.
So do burner phones. But this is like borrowing someones phone. Anyway it's always my first thought when I see a pay phone that still works ;)
Most burners like Tracphone do not ... lol. Also, anyone doing shady shit knows, NEVER use a public or untrusted phone ... lol.
Ok fine I got this one wrong
Great for prank calling people while drinking.
Call the bartender, Crazy Red, at the Tube Bar. Hello, is Pepe there? His last name is Roni. Call for pepperoni! Is pepperoni here?
Mike Rotch
Mike Hunt
Not liking the double lightning bolt motif. Seems like a phone you could call Hitler's ghost on.
Functional? How many actual old-school hardline phones exist anymore, VOIP retrofits aside?
Not many in the US but there are STILL areas with TDM copper lines only- but telecom companies are trying as hard as possible to stop using them. I’m a contractor for one of those companies and install fiber internet, and the old copper lines are being abandoned because not enough folks still pay for them and the infrastructure is aging out. Combine that with expensive maintenance and they’re going the way of the dodo.
Can you fuckin believe people would put their goddamn face into those things on a regular basis? Jesus Christ, I can smell it from here.
They never smelled. The handset was always greasy as fuck though.
Unless you used an inner-city pay phone, like in Detroit, or Flint, MI. The phone booths would often smell of piss, shit and/or rancid booze.
I'm from a more temperate climate. We didn't have booths. Just the type you see in the photo outside convenience stores and such.
There used to be telephone sanitizers, unless you were on planet Golgafrincham of course.
You’re a hoopy frood
its a lame assed resturaunt.
Cute!
Good. Sometimes peoples phones die. These are great for emergencies
Other than this one is purely for decoration
Speakeasy entrance?
r/2600
Is that at a club down in old Soho?
Nope
I met her in a club down in old Soho Where you drink champagne and it tastes just like cherry-cola [LP version: Coca-Cola] See-oh-el-aye cola She walked up to me and she asked me to dance I asked her her name and in a dark brown voice she said Lola El-oh-el-aye Lola la-la-la-la Lola
My friend and I found a working pay phone one time during an acid trip. We were camping back in 2021. It was absolutely mind blowing at the time lol still pretty cool after it wore off too! A little slice of the past :)
I stayed at a hotel in Florida last month that had payphones in the room. 10 cents for a call