Telus says they’re considering “curfewed” payphones, which function normally during the day but only allow for emergency calls after dark.
“Obviously we’re very, very cautious about removing pay phones from a low-income neighbourhood,” says Hall. “If you’ve got an area where the demographics (indicate) that a lot of people can’t afford to have a home phone, you want to make sure that there are a lot of pay phones in that neighbourhood. People rely on them not only for day-to-day phone calls, (but) also for emergency access.”