Phone boxes

We have one in the village but it is decommissioned and used as an exhibition space. I think all phone boxes are.

Are you really in Cumbria? A most wonderous place.

Not many phone boxes now but 60p.not sure how long you get

I understand that if they are used, however rarely, they must be kept.

glasshalffullagain

Are you really in Cumbria? A most wonderous place.

Yes, though about half an hour from the tourist areas and I live on the coast.
The phone box is the only one left in the area, as there used to be 5 within a mile of my house, and the others have been taken away. Two in the town that are disused have been turned into defibirilator stations.

Assuming nothing has changed since 2023:

"Public call boxes can provide a safety net for people without access to a landline or working mobile phone. In areas with poor mobile coverage, a public call box can be the only option for making calls, including to the emergency services.

BT (across the UK, except for the Hull area) and KCOM (in the Hull area) are required to provide public call boxes to meet the reasonable needs of the public.

In June 2022, we updated our rules on public call boxes. BT and KCOM now cannot remove a box if it is the last remaining in an area (i.e. more than 400 metres’ walking distance from the next public call box) and it meets one or more of these criteria:

it is in a place without coverage from all four mobile network providers;
it is located in an area with a high frequency of accidents or suicides;
it has made 52 or more calls over the past 12 months; or
there is other evidence that the box is reasonably needed at the site – for example if it is likely to be relied upon in the event of a local emergency, such as flooding, or if it is used to call helplines.

If a public call box that is the last at a site does not meet any of these four criteria, BT or KCOM can consult with the relevant local authority on removing it. BT and KCOM must take account of any views and evidence received from this consultation before deciding whether to remove the box.

Public call boxes that are not the last at a site can be removed by BT and KCOM without consultation."

www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-and-broadband/phone-numbers/public-call-boxes/

We have one on the road outside. I’ve seen (homeless) druggies go in occasionally, late at night, doing what in the town centre I have no idea. In and out in a few minutes …. I rang to report it in the hope it could be removed but it’s some sort of ‘hub line’? And it has to stay apparently. It’s silver metal/glass affair, shabby looking in our town centre. I have never in the 15 years we’ve lived here ever seen anyone go in to actually make a call.

I have a friend who doesn't have a phone. I don't know of a phone box anywhere nearby. I considered giving her one of my old pay as you go mobiles as I worry about what she would do if she had an emergency, but I couldn't get them to work when I tried. I guess she would have to knock on a neighbour's door - probably mine! I also have a friend in a signal blackspot and also don't know if there is a phone box nearby. They have to have a landline as their mobiles don't work at home most of the time. We used to eat at a pub near their house (until it closed down sadly) and would drive home to find missed calls and messages. I can't imagine being cut off like that!

I haven't seen a phone box for long time. There is one in a village near us (dorset) I believe, but used for books which ppl can take for free.

Luckygirl3

We have one in the village but it is decommissioned and used as an exhibition space. I think all phone boxes are.

I thought all were.
Until I saw one usable a couple of days ago. And someone said they had seen on elsewhere, usable, as well.

The only one anywhere near me is in the next village and used for books, looks rather nice with plants outside.

We saw a phone box in a norfolk village that is a library ,take the books you have read and pick one up to read.
Was shelved and very full.

I dont think any of the posters live in places such as the dales where the telephone boxes are vital and are needed. You can have the most expensive up to date mobile phone and you wont get a signal at all in some places, and in a lot of places you cannot get a signal to use your bank cards either. For the many walkers and bikers also the telephone boxes are a chance to contact the emergency services and this can save vital time when they are needed. As a volunteer bus driver up the dales I can tell you that they are definitely valued round here, and they are there at any time for you, including those times when your mobile runs out of money or breaks etc and you need to contact someone.

But as an overall attitude anyway, whilst I am not suggesting that we have huge amounts of phone boxes kept, or do not use bank cards if we choose; that is what it should be . A choice for those who have the money to be able to do so. The assumption that everyone can afford to have a phone and use cards to pay for things is both untrue and somewhat arrogant and city based. The banks got away with pushing the card situation for the covid situation, but it was also their intention - which they have definitely done - to close down as many branches as they can, and giving none or very poor service to people.

On principal I will not give any custom to a business or restaurant that states they only take cards. Cash is coin of the realm and legal and whilst I am quite happy with them stating their preference for cards , to refuse cash is again putting people into the haves and the have nots. It also raises prices as the banks charge business people for every transaction they make. I shop in my local market using cash. that way makes it cheaper for everyone, keeps the market going, and the short term memories of people who seem to have already forgotten that the small firms and such people as farm shops and markets were the people who came out and delivered and made great efforts. Also whilst I use direct debits etc for bills , I find having cash for any treats etc . means that I know precisely what I have available and thus do not get overdrawn. Many people get rather a shock when they have done everything on their cards and then the small unnoticed items add up at the end of the month.

knspol

The only one anywhere near me is in the next village and used for books, looks rather nice with plants outside.

Gosh if that was a phone box near us knspol it would soon be full of rubbish, wee, needles, cannabis joints and goodness knows what else!
Oh yes, not forgetting the calling cards for various 'services!'
By the the way I live in a supposedly nice area too but now we are being sandwiched between two expanding new estates and It's just not the same. 🤔

The only surviving phone box near me is opposite a hospital and next to a bus stop, but it is academic if anyone getting off a bus and developing a medical condition that needed help would use the phone box, as the other passengers would probably have mobiles and ring the hospital. However, it is there should you need it.

So if phones are required to be kept. Does that mean there’s any hope of keeping cash?

I was disgusted when arriving at Edinburgh Airport early morning last year, unable to make a phonecall.
I had lost my mobile phone and needed to call for a friend to collect me. The airline desk staff refused to let me use their phones.
Eventually I asked a kind carpark porter who made the call for me.

I don’t think there’s any phone boxes in my town I haven’t seen one for a long time

The phone box where my brother lives is a library . Last time I saw a phone box was miles away from me and had no phone just left to rust.

Grammaretto, if I lost my phone I would not know any numbers to call. They are all on my phone. At home I have an address book with family and old friends’ details, but I don’t update it with new contacts.
I think there is still a working phone box in our small market town but I haven’t checked lately.

BT keep a bare minimum of phones for social reasons and in areas where the mobile signal is poor. The few I see locally never seem to have anyone using them, but there is always a possibility someone might need to use them if their mobile is lost or if they have no landline or a mobile( very rare now, but not unheard of).

The one in our village has been turned into a book swap.
Sharrington saved theirs- see photo.
I’m not sure if the phone boxes would work any better than our mobiles if we lost electricity or signal, which is not brilliant where we are. Does anyone know?

Forgot the image!

Here’s the one below us. On a main road.