Upworthy
Region: US
Wednesday 02 July 2025 15:00:00 GMT
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sassy.frazz :
I read that they got rid of pay phones in large part because they said dr*g dealers and other types would use them for business but really I think the phone companies weren’t making as much off them and decided to get rid. It sucks because we should still have phones like that around in an emergency. It also hurts the homeless.
2025-07-04 00:38:03
3
Jessie Denney-Vince :
still see a few particularly in areas with no cell coverage - Ontario canada
2025-07-05 18:48:01
5
Noktastrigo :
When I went to college we had a phone in our dorm room but we couldn’t call long distance, we had to go to the pay phone and call collect. I had a calling card though so that helped.
2025-08-23 02:43:54
0
Daniel :
I think there are still some around the bus stations where I live
2025-08-20 20:05:23
0
redpanda :
Collect call from “Mom it’s me the movie is over we’re at the food court”
2025-07-03 02:39:45
222
Livingthedream789 :
It’s funny she questioned having a conversation at a pay phone surrounded by others when cell phone convos are completely out in the open as well
2025-07-03 12:01:25
57
garliclovingvampress :
I put dimes in my penny loafers in case of an emergency. That was our backup plan.
2025-07-02 17:29:21
34
kadjajj9 :
My local library still has one. I think all libraries and public transit hubs should have them for people who don't have cell phones.
2025-07-03 12:27:03
24
Katja :
the phone bank was at school too. like if you were ready to go home when your extra curricula was over you'd call home.
2025-07-03 11:51:09
15
danwindy :
You could also ask a business to use their phone, sometimes they'd let you. Imagine you're at a bookstore, need to tell a parent where you are, so you ask & call home just for a second.
2025-07-03 13:37:58
12
Rick Shafer :
Back in the 80s when AT&Ts monopoly was divested (remember when we used to break up monopolies?) I started a company to install, service and maintain private payphones. We had a great run until cell phones made them obsolete. Go to Portland OR Union Station and look at the payphone area. I did that! 🥰
2025-07-03 14:59:01
12
pagan_7676 :
We still have them in Australia. It’s an essential service for those with no access to telecommunication services and it’s free!
2025-07-06 11:09:05
11
Clever Hans :
If you are in an older hotel, a lot of times you'll be able to find these little areas, kind of off to the side, that just seem like a semi concealed quiet little alcove, sometimes with seats or little shelves, with no readily apparent purpose. Those used to be banks of payphones
2025-07-03 13:04:37
10
Burrhead :
Used to be thousands of Bell employees whose job was to collect the money from pay phones and clean/repair them. Back when AT&T owned everything a tech would come to your home and clean the home phone. You didn’t own it.
2025-07-03 12:01:50
10
Mary Ann Winspur :
In front of movies, gas stations, grocery stores, in malls, anywhere you needed to call someone.
2025-07-03 13:25:51
8
always.caturday :
We had a pay phone at school… I didn’t get a cell phone until I was 18!
2025-07-03 12:06:17
7
Heather :
I remember using a pay phone at community college around 2008 because my cell died. I think I was surprised because I hadn't seen one in ages
2025-07-03 10:36:25
7
Moricaltron :
I found a working pay phone at a state park beach in Big Sur last summer
2025-07-03 16:44:25
5
dr.2702 :
gen z can't be real 😭
2025-07-04 19:10:48
3
brimstone.and.briars :
I remember having to use a quarter to call my mom from the mall to let her know I was ready to be picked up. If I didnt have a quarter I had to call collect and say "HeyMomItsMeComePickMeUp" then hang up so it wouldn't charge her. 😂
2025-07-03 18:21:53
3
Barbeechick :
Had them outside at my high school. It was the only way to contact are parents when we needed to.
2025-07-03 16:58:43
3
Mike G :
I grew up in a house with six kids. There was a big dish by the front door that contained dimes (later it had quarters). Whenever we went anywhere, we would take two or three. That way we can always call from wherever we were if we got in trouble, or needed a ride.
2025-07-03 11:26:42
3
Eva Amsen :
I had to remember to always have some change on me in case I needed to use the payphone at school to call home
2025-07-04 20:21:42
2
Alex :
"Imagine talking on the phone and there's 4 other conversations" meanwhile younger generations talk on speaker so the whole bus can hear both sides of the conversation 🤦🏻♂️
2025-07-14 22:26:47
2
👋 :
I've still seen some pay phones around my city. I remember they were 25 cents a call. NOW ITS OVER 4 BUCKS
2025-07-06 01:57:43
2
Fel 🌙Lunar Void Collective🌙 :
there is still a functional pay phone down a mountain back road near where my dad lives. middle of absolutely nowhere, just a random phone at the top of a hill leading down into a river valley out in BC.
2025-07-05 20:20:03
2
maryjanegillis :
we had them in our high school common area.
2025-07-03 10:42:56
2
Lisa :
Absolutely payphone existed. They were common.
2025-07-04 05:04:21
2
Rich :
I remember not even having a phone and relying on the booth at the gas station.
2025-07-03 02:59:21
2
Cinda and Mayhem :
Who remembers the magazine pic of a young Marie Osmond sitting in a phone booth at an airport she looked so sad
2025-07-03 22:11:15
1
Dorian/Reuben 🆘🇺🇸 :
Literally a movie called Phonebooth that took place entirely inside a pay phone booth
2025-07-03 20:27:52
1
Not Hildy Johnson 501 🇺🇸💙💛 :
Ugh. Fire up the oven. I’m ready for my urn. 💀 ⚱️
2025-07-02 15:21:00
1
Lovegrove Creative :
New Orleans - January 2020
2025-07-03 22:51:32
1
Lili :
in Germany we had payphones until like 2012...
2025-07-04 09:51:53
1
kat :
payphones were dying when I was a teen but they were still nice to have when we forgot to charge our phones
2025-08-23 11:35:07
1
Effie5 🇨🇦 :
i remember making a collect call home from school...same city but had no change. calling the operator and actually talking to a real person! those were the days! 😄😄😄
2025-07-04 14:30:50
0
Nits :
I remember having to buy a card with credit on it to be able to use the phone. I used to call my mom that way whenever I was the countryside at my grandparents since there was no cell reception there. I'm only 29🤣
2025-07-04 06:37:57
0
theteaisaddictive :
Oh my god that’s my friend in the first reply on slide 1!!
2025-07-04 08:19:52
0
isthissanto :
I used to call my mom on a pay phone and sometimes she had to call be back on the same pay phone. I had to tell people it was out of order so I could receive the call.
2025-07-04 09:43:42
0
Catnap :
I once saw a man, dressed like a cowboy, unzip his pants and treat a payphone like a particularly affordable lady of the evening.
2025-07-03 04:47:17
0
agentleebs :
When I found myself in a new town - that was a big deal, where was the pay phone and did it have a phone book? I remember a drive up one in a town, that was different.
2025-07-04 12:06:10
0
Ann :
big cities yes small or mid ones probobly not that many
2025-07-04 12:08:28
0
AligatorKayaks :
::dials 1800COLLECT:: “mom pick me up”
2025-07-04 13:30:11
0
Tiffany :
And those phone books had everyone’s phone number (obv) and address!!! No freak outs over privacy.
2025-07-04 14:25:26
0
🇲🇶 OreLily 🇫🇷 :
It also meant to memorize a few of telephone numbers 😅😅 or to have a notebook with all the numbers of the family 💀💀 now I can barely remember mine 😂
2025-07-04 05:47:26
0
Raf Cole :
Watch Clockwise for one of the best phonebooth scenes ever. 😎
2025-07-04 17:53:56
0
Pnlpnl26 :
I didn’t get a cell until my mid 20s specifically because i couldn’t find a working pay phone in Brooklyn to catch a ride home
2025-07-04 18:26:39
0
Ceri60 🏴 :
I read that Tom Jones bought the phone box that was at the end of his street in Wales when he was a kid and had it shipped to LA and put next to his swimming pool 😆
2025-07-04 18:44:20
0
TheCedarRiverSnag :
I still got one in my shop. It’s not hooked up but my kids play with it.
2025-07-03 03:51:36
0
Dum Dum :
Boomers are getting old and dying off. Who are you going to blame after they are gone?
2025-07-03 03:50:50
0
okccsi :
Everyone has seen ‘phone from car’, but how many have seen ‘phone from horse’ and it’s super high for horseback.
2025-07-03 03:41:23
0
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