By Dagny SalasThe Daily Northwestern

Evanston resident Charlie Marshall can’t remember the last time he used a pay phone.

“It’s been years,” he said. “It’s difficult using them on the street because of noise and the elements, especially in the winter. There’s also a lack of maintenance – sending someone out to get the money – and cell phones have taken away the need for public phones.”

The number of pay phones has decreased nationwide, not just in Evanston, said Cara Birch, AT&T spokesperson for Illinois.

“Cell phone usage is way up,” she said. “That’s where people are turning to rather than pay phones.”

Pay phones need to take in a minimum amount of service to stay in use, Birch said.

“During the normal course of business, we evaluate pay phone locations to determine if their use warrants being in service,” she said. “If not, they’re disconnected.”

Max Rubin, director of facilities management for the City of Evanston, said he has noticed the gradual removal of pay phones, especially in the Evanston Civic Center, 2100 Ridge Ave.

“Most people are using cell phones, and the revenue stream out of pay phones is really down,” he said. “We’re charged $75 a month if we do not make whatever amount monthly.”

Northwestern graduate student David Armstrong said there just isn’t a use for pay phones anymore.

“You have instant access to a phone now,” he said. “Most pay phones in place now were in place before cell phones were in use.”

Debbie Hansen, a nurse at Evanston Township High School, disagrees. There is still a need for pay phones, because not everyone who owns a cell phone always carries it, she said.

“I think it would be interesting to do a study and see how much use pay phones are getting because some people don’t have cell phones, or their cell phone isn’t fully charged, or they don’t bring them, or they don’t use it,” she said. “I don’t know what the usage would have to be to make it worth their while.”

Birch said AT&T offers a variety of alternative services for pay phone users if they cannot find a traditional pay phone to use.

“We offer the site owners the option to keep the pay phone in place with a convenience line, which is a number that they can call to keep the pay phone in place,” she said.

Customers also can locate alternative pay phone providers in local phone books, Birch said, or contact the American Public Communications Council, a national trade association that deals with legal and regulatory issues that pay phone service providers face.

“They have a variety of knowledge and represent 1,200 pay phone providers across the nation, so they’re a resource a customer could go to,” she said.

Like many in Evanston, Marshall said he sees the pay phone as a relic of the past that no longer holds relevance in people’s daily lives.

“Technology has evolved so much that everyone, regardless of age, has cell phones now, so it became a moot point,” he said. “I used to hate to carry them because I always found it an intrusion, but I have one now because it’s a necessity.”

Reach Dagny Salas at [email protected].