How to Find a Pay Phone

Pay phones used to be on nearly every street of every major city, and they were nearly as common in suburbs and small towns as well. The prevalence of cell phones has eliminated the utility of pay phones, and as a result they have become...

Method 1 of 2:

Looking for Pay Phones in Common Places

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Check gas stations and convenience stores. Though pay phones are disappearing from these locations as well, many still have them.
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Search inside of transit hubs. Public transit stations and centers in many towns still have a pay phone or two. However, these are sometimes not in good condition due to heavy use and neglect by their owners.^{[1] X Research source}
1. Subway stations and the largest local bus terminals often have pay phones.
2. The stations of interstate bus companies, especially those of Greyhound, often still have pay phones.Greyhound stations are worth mentioning in particular because, in many larger cities, they are open 24 hours and have several pay phones that are in good repair.
3. Major airports, and most smaller ones as well, usually have some pay phones around. Airport managers seem to realize that people traveling often leave certain vital things at home. International travelers are also in need of pay phones if they have not purchased special ones for the country they are traveling to. As a result, airports still have large numbers of pay phones.
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Look for local government and community centers. Government buildings, such as the county's courthouse, often have payphones. Every county in the United States has their own courthouse or some form of office, which are generally home to pay phones which are accessible to the community. Because people in courthouses often have important messages that they need to share with family members, there seems to be an understanding that pay phones can provide a needed service. Outside of courthouses, you might also want to try these:
1. Post offices frequently have pay phones. Again, these are public use facilities, and pay phones can be a useful connection in such places.
2. Public libraries often have pay phones as well, and most of those that do not usually offer internet service. If they do not have pay phones, you can at least use resources there to find one.

Method 2 of 2:

Searching for Hard-to-Find Pay Phones

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Use a website to find pay phones near you. If you have access to the internet you can search certain websites for information about pay phones near your. There are now a number of websites that list pay phones in most states of the United States, as well as a few places overseas. These websites are creations of a community of online users who want to create catalogs of useful information--sounds familiar, right? That is both the advantage and disadvantage of these sites; in places where many users want to make information accessible, they are often quite good, but where there are few people engaged with this sort of online activity the quality is lacking. Still, you are looking for options, and so here are a few examples:
1. The website Payphone Directory offers a list of pay phones by city and state. The search options on the sight are a bit limited, but the list of phones is extensive.^{[2] X Research source}
2. Waymarking.com is a site that is great for finding information on things near your location. If you are searching for something nearby--including a pay phone--just type the name of the item in the main search box and then add the name of your location. A list of options will appear, and a map will show you where they are located.^{[3] X Research source}
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Ask local people where a pay phone can be found. Because of the increasing scarcity of pay phones, you may have your best luck by simply asking the people who know the area well. For rural areas where the population tends to be older and internet connections are harder to have at home, there will be little information about payphones on any website. If you are in an emergency or have an urgent call to make, you will probably have to ask people for help.
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Use a website to look up pay phones by their number. If instead of looking to make a call you are hoping to find out who is calling you, then you need a different kind of website. If you are receiving harassing phone calls and you find out they are coming from a pay phone, you can sometimes look up the location of the phone by using the number.
1. Mcpayphone is an example of one such site. It lists pay phones throughout the U.S. with a focus on the phone number of that pay phone. There are also physical addresses on the site, and this can be especially useful if you are trying to identify the location of a stalker.