Verizon increasing price of pay phone call to 50 cents

Advertiser Staff and News Services

Verizon Hawai'i said yesterday it is raising the price of a local pay phone call to 50 cents, up from 35 cents.

The increase is part of a nationwide move by parent company Verizon Communications, which serves 33 states. The company said it has begun converting its 430,000 pay phones to the new price, a process that will take several months.

In some states, including New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island and West Virginia, the hike may not take effect until next year, the company said.

But officials with Verizon Hawai'i, the state's biggest pay phone company, said the conversion is expected to begin as soon as next week. Pay phones that have been converted will have postings of the new price.

Verizon said it also will increase the price of local directory assistance dialed from pay phones to 50 cents, up from 35 cents.

Verizon said pay phone use has declined 23 percent in the past two years as growing cell phone use has cut into profits. In Hawai'i, where wireless-phone penetration is among the highest in the United States, pay phone use also has been on the decline.