[Spooky23]

You’re right!

Pay phones used to actually make money and get maintained by the phone company! A lot of money. And a lot of regulation. Outside of the hood, they started reducing the maintenance expenses in the mid 90s when receiving calls was pretty much banned.

Chargers are worse than ATMs, they are yet another real estate tax scheme. The actual function of charging is often not a serious consideration.

[boredatoms]

Receiving calls? Perhaps Im too young, what was the use case for that?

[Spooky23]

Phones were expensive, in 1960, you’re looking at the equivalent of a $75/mo bill today. The median income then was about $58k 2023 dollars, about 18% less than todays median income.

Also, urban apartment buildings weren’t always wired and while traveling you didn’t always have phones in motels. My grandfather had a bar whose clientele was mostly from a shipyard. When they’d furlough the workers for a retooling or something, he’d close the place and work as musician in a resort town for a few weeks - he’d send a postcard with a pay phone for folks to call at a certain time window.

[jamiek88]

For me it was that I wasn’t allowed to use the house phone but my girlfriend could use hers so she’d call the number of the pay phone down the street from me so it was free for me and her (but not her parents!)

[jasomill]

Saving money, for one. Incoming payphone calls are free.