RIVERSIDE, Calif. (AP) - There’s another nail in the coffin for Southern California’s highway call boxes in the age of cellphones.
The Press-Enterprise reports the Riverside County Transportation Commission voted Wednesday to remove 36 percent of its remaining call boxes and plan to eliminate the entire system by 2024.
A staff report found call volume continues to significantly decline. Volume peaked at more than 88,000 calls per year in the mid-1990s but totaled just 1,864 last year, amounting to just eight calls per box.
The trend in declining numbers of calls and boxes has been occurring for years.
Officials in neighboring San Bernardino County, for example, recently voted to eliminate 225 roadside call boxes.
___
Information from: The Press-Enterprise, http://www.pe.com
Please read our comment policy before commenting.