For decades, highway call boxes offered stranded drivers a lifeline when they needed help on California roads.
But as cellphone use has become nearly universal, the once-common roadside fixtures have seen their use plummet.
“Twenty years ago, not everybody had a cellphone, and now most of the people have a cellphone, and if they don’t have one, somebody with them does,” said Chipper Clouser, a manager at Bob Holzer Towing in Santa Barbara.
California highway call boxes provide drivers with a direct line to the California Highway Patrol dispatch or a dedicated call center, where they can request emergency services, police, medical assistance or towing.
At Bob Holzer Towing, however, about 90% of calls for service now come from people using their cellphones to access the company’s services, Clouser said. “They are dated now, maybe in the desert or someplace with no cellular service,” Clouser said.
“At some point in time they were beneficial.” California once had thousands of highway call boxes. Today, only 47 remain following a reduction in 2019, all located on rural sections of Highways 101, 154 and 166.
Data presented at a SBCAG meeting on Thursday, August 20 showed the call box system in Santa Barbara County has experienced an estimated 90% decline in call volume.
The decline reflects a broader trend across California. Over the past several years, counties throughout the state have discontinued call box service or significantly reduced the number of boxes in operation. In 1999, the system recorded nearly 8,000 calls. By 2024, that number had fallen below 200.
Some call boxes recorded no calls at all during the past year. For some drivers, the boxes have become more of a relic than a roadside necessity. “I’ve never used a call box in my life, and I don’t think they are very useful,” said Donovan Cooks, a driver.
Still, the remaining boxes can provide an alternative in rural areas where cellphone service is limited or unavailable.
Local leaders have decided to revisit the future of the call box system at the end of the year, as officials weigh the cost of maintaining aging infrastructure against its declining use.
For now, the boxes remain along some of Santa Barbara County’s most remote highways — a reminder of a time when calling for help meant pulling over and walking to a roadside phone rather than reaching into a pocket.
