Pay phones no biggie they are only at the rest stops anyway, but the 18,000 emergency phones located every so often on the road itself.... isn’t that part of the reason you pay the outrageous tolls to begin with? Yes most have cell phones, but if you are one of those 5% who don’t ... those emergency phones seem like worthy to keep for those 800 who needed them last year, especially considering how ridiculously expensive the PA Turnpike is.
They most likely cost more to maintain and collect the coins than they make.
Not surprised.
The era of the landline is over.
Before: cost of one local call, say 25 cents.
After: cost of one local call, say $30/month plus $50 for phone purchase.
Yay technology!
Not enough money to stick in their own pockets.
I would hazard they are a financial liability these days - probably more been vandalized than are working....plus, with cell phones, they are about obsolete.
Pennsylvania also has much higher gas and milk prices than Ohio. Gas prices are somewhere around $.40 a gallon higher and state controlled milk prices are now more than twice as much per gallon as what I pay at Aldi’s in Ohio.
I used to date a girl back in the 80’s that worked for a pay phone rental company.
not only is the business long gone so is the building..
The Pennsylvania Turnpike has been making using the Turnpike less and less utilitarian. They started by taking out rest stops years ago. A tired truck driver now has to continue for long distances when the rest stops provided a place to pull over when he felt sleepy. Now they are taking out public telephones. The Pennsylvania Turnpike is becoming a less friendly environment for travel. I do not know who is responsible for these changes, but it is not smart.