In Australia, Telstra (formerly publicly owned telephony company) has a regulatory obligation as the primary service provider to maintain pay phones which are r

In Australia, Telstra (formerly publicly owned telephony company) has a regulatory obligation as the primary service provider to maintain pay phones which are reasonably accessible to everyone in the country. As of August 2021 they are free for domestic calls. From the outside it looks totally backward to get rid of pay phones. You don’t use them until you need them. It costs little to maintain them and on balance it is a social good.