In the 1960s the Bell System began to offer a service of public emergency telephones that connected to a central emergency switchboard. The Bell System provided and maintained the network. This had the advantage of the older telegraph call boxes in which the caller could give specific information as to the location and nature of the emergency.
Today, many college campuses have "blue light" boxes with intercoms to campus security. Some cities (like NYC) have street corner intercom posts for that purpose as well.
Some places, such as passenger railway authorities, use public payphones to double as emergency call boxes. Callers may use such phones as a normal pay phone (and people still do to this day), or they could use the phone to call 911 coin free.
The phone company then and now would only install a payphone if the expected revenues would meet their costs. If not, the property owner would have to make up the difference. Presumably in the case of transit agencies, they are paying that difference in many locations.
Would anyone know what the cost is for a public phone (baby Bell company-provided) standard payphone is these days?
Any other comments toward public safety emergency call boxes would be appreciated. Thanks!
P.S. Obvously the use of cell phones has reduced the need for pay phones, including emergency use. But a hard wired pay phone transmits the exact location immediately while a cell phone does not. Often cell phones may be discharged or lost or not operable, and plenty of people don't own cell phones.
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