Who empties payphones?
Every time I see this thread title, I keep reading it as “Who empties pantyhose?”
I don’t know what that says about me.
You’re dyslexic maybe
Still a few around here. I don’t get around a lot so there could still be a few outside, but all the ones I see these days are indoors, e.g. shopping centres, hospitals, etc. I assume having them inside cuts down on vandalism. They take coins as well as payphone cards (that have a certain amount of money loaded into them and the cost of the call gets deducted automatically) and credit cards. And no, I’ve never seen one emptied either.
The last time I used a pay phone was about three years ago, in the train station in Northampton, England. It was my only way to contact my friends there so they could come and pick me up, my US cell phone being useless.
I was going to write that it took coins, but now I’m not so sure. I believe I paid for that call with my credit card.
I asked my boss if he had ever seen the pay phone across the hall from our office being emptied. He said it happened last week. I reviewed the video for the whole week for the 4PM to Midnight shift - never saw the guy.
Last autumn, BT introduced a scheme whereby local authorities can retain their classic red telephone boxes for £1 each. This is because they are recognised as cultural icons and many people don’t want to see them disappear from the local landscape. Ownership is thus transferred to said authorities. There’s only one problem.
BT take out the telephone equipment first so you can’t make any calls.
I hope payphones don’t disappear. Not everyone has mobiles, and they are useful for the following things:
- People who don’t have a cellphone.
- 1-800 numbers work.
- 911 works - so emergencies.
- You have a cell phone but the battery is dead or you’re out of minutes (my phone is pay-by-minutes).
There are significantly less and they are less well-maintained, but our mall still has them, thankfully.
I see the parking meters being emptied pretty frequently here in New York City.
You’ll see a person walking down the street dragging a rectangular box on wheels which has a circular opening on the top. The collector will stop next to each meter and insert a key into the circular coin bin on the lower half of the meter. With a twist of the key, the sealed coin bin will pop out of the meter, and he or she will insert it into the similarly-sized hole on the top of the rolling box. You’ll hear the coins falling into the box, but they are never exposed or available to the collector (or anyone else on the street). Once the coins have fallen out, he or she will remove the coin bin from the box, reinsert it into the meter, remove the key and move on down the street.
I saw the same thing.
As for the OP. I have seen both a parking meter and a pay phone being emptied. But, it was years ago. I don’t even know where I would fine a parking meter anymore. They don’t have many where I live. The pay phone I saw emptied was in a tiny village of 800 people and one of the old guys from the phone company did it once a week.
The meters were emptied by “meter maids”, back when I remember seeing it done. This was in the 70s or 80s though.