ABILENE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) – A new public pay phone in Abilene will soon connect users directly to a pay phone in San Francisco as part of a social experiment. The phone will be installed later this month at Seven and One Books. When someone picks up the receiver, the call will automatically connect to a […]
Perhaps a language understanding issue on my side (no native English speaker…):
Does the “pay” in pay phone has any significance or is it a term like “riding shotgun”, that is still in use but has nothing to do anymore with warding of bandits with actual guns?
Before cellphones, payphones were coin operated public telephones people could pay to use if they needed to make a phone call.
In San Francisco, I know of one functioning payphone that is still in service. Most have been removed since there is no demand for them any longer.
But this one is free and only calls the other one in Texas with a specific intention.