Though it is coming, consistant cellphone service on the subway is still (thank god) a ways off. But emergencies do happen. And that is why the MTA has a contract with Verizon for all those pay phones that litter our stations (yeah, we know, we barely even see them anymore either—but they are there!). Only problem? According to a survey by the Straphangers Campaign nearly a third of those phones don't work.
The Campaign tested 740 pay phones in the top 40 underground stations last summer and found that 31 percent were non-functioning (see the PDF report), a number that matched up with an MTA survey by an independent contractor. They called a phone non-functioning if it failed a number of criteria including no dial tone (33 percent), cannot connect to a test 1-800 number (21 percent), coin falls through (14 percent), won't return coins (13 percent), coin slot blocked (11 percent) and bad handset (seven percent).
Part of the problem is that Verizon no longer is required to keep all of those phones in tip-top shape. Until 2005 the telcom giant's contract with the city required that 95 percent of phones be "fully operative and in service at all times." But that language was tweaked in 2005 and now reads: "[Verizon] shall exercise good-faith effort to clear 95% of all known troubles within 24 hours."
Anyway, if you are looking to make some phone calls underground, your best bet is the 33rd Street 6 station where all the phones worked great. And if you want a station where Verizon will not be able to hear you now? Oh, that'd be the 77th Street station on the 6. Only 29 percent of that station's phones work.
