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When I lived in Brooklyn, NY in the 70's and 80's, they had started installing pay phones it seemed on every corner (after 100 years without needing to do that). I was told it wasn't about crime but because the profit they were allowed to make as a public utility was a percentage of their investment, so by investing more in the new pay phones, they could make more money. The article above reminded me of that, though of course no one tells me anything.
I don't remember ever using one but it was nice to have payphones so close by.