How often are payphones used in Alberta?

When was the last time you made a telephone call using a payphone? If you can’t remember, you’re not alone.

The use of payphones is dropping so much Bell Canada is asking the Canadian Radio-Television Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) for permission to stop having to offer payphone lines at a discounted rate.

The company says 80 per cent of Canadians use cellphones, which it argues makes payphone service no longer essential. Bell wants the OK to stop offering payphone lines at a lower cost than regular business lines.

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READ MORE: NYC embarks on big plan to reinvent payphones as Wi-Fi hot spots 

“It doesn’t cost me anything so I don’t care,” Andrew Harbinson said. “At the end of the day, what utility does it have?”

Telus has seen the number of payphones it operates “reduce drastically” in the last decade as demand goes down. Currently, Telus runs 10,000 payphones across Alberta and B.C.

How often a payphone is used depends on its location.

“In many cases, payphones are rarely used, perhaps only once or twice a week,” Telus spokesperson Richard Gilhooley said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "In many cases, payphones are rarely used, perhaps only once or twice a week," Telus spokesperson Richard Gilhooley said.

In remote locations, a payphone could end up with just three quarters over the course of an entire year.

READ MORE: Death of the payphone? CRTC to tighten rules on removing public phones 

A survey done for the CRTC found that only 32 per cent of Canadians used a payphone even once in the last year, compared to 50 per cent who reported occasional use in 2004. Phone companies told the CRTC that 636 of their payphones weren’t used even once in the last 13 months and that about 10,000 phones were taking in less than 50 cents a day.

Bell has seen revenue from payphone lines drop 55 per cent in the last eight years.

“Telus has always taken a moderate approach to removing payphones, and we collaborate with communities to ensure the best possible access to the service even as use declines and payphones become unprofitable,” Gilhooley explained.

“Most often, we remove a payphone because the landlord does not want it anymore – generally, they request that it be removed so they can use the space for services that are more in line with customer demand.”

READ MORE: CRTC wants to know if Canadians still use payphones 

But not everyone wants to see all payphones disappear.

“I was probably 10 years old and I had to call my mom,” Ed Wickstrom said. “I was lost, couldn’t find the right bus to get home. Probably the only time I’ve ever used a payphone.”

“I don’t think we should get rid of them entirely. I think it’s really good to have them around for people who don’t have cellphones or don’t have minutes or time,” Wickstrom said.

“I think it’s really important just for people who don’t have the communication ability that most do.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "I think it's really important just for people who don't have the communication ability that most do."

Keeping them around is costly, not only when it comes to operating them, but also maintaining them.

Telus says phone booths are often the subject of vandalism and it can cost up to $5,000 to replace one payphone.