Halifax has some sad looking pay phones, like this one on Gottingen. For those of us who still don’t own a cell phone (yes, we exist), pay phones are a quarter-eating necessity.

Remarks: Oddly, Nova Scotia pay phones still feature the MT&T logo, despite the fact MT&T hasn’t been around since the Aliant merger in 1998. Conspiracy theorists, take note: Could this be Aliant’s way of ducking their payphonian responsibilities? Have cells de-prioritized the pay phone? “From our maintenance perspective, cell phones don’t come into play,” says Lilly. “But we do rely on the public to report problems with payphones.” In that case, what happened to the phone outside the Oxford? That’s been bugging us too.

Who’s Responsible?: Bruce Lilly, Aliant’s regional manager for Halifax. 486-3288.

This article appears in Dec 6-12, 2007.