Sacramento region removes roadside call boxes after more than 30 years

They're a piece of Sacramento-area history, call boxes that once served as a lifeline for drivers before cellphones became commonplace. Now, the Sacramento region is hanging up the phone. 

Crews are removing the remaining call boxes across the region after more than 30 years of helping stranded drivers get connected to emergency and roadside assistance.

The Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG) oversees the region's call box motorist-aid program, known as CVR-SAFE. The network spans seven counties: El Dorado, Glenn, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Sutter, Yolo and Yuba.

At the network's peak in 1995, the call boxes received 71,978 calls.

By 2025, that number had fallen to just 3,487, a 95% decrease as cellphones became more widely available.

Today, about 303 call boxes remain across the region, but SACOG said maintaining the aging infrastructure is becoming increasingly difficult to justify as fewer drivers use the system.

"It's about $125 per phone call," said Victoria Cacciatore, a transportation analyst with SACOG.

Cacciatore has been tracking the decline in call box use. She said many of the boxes now receive only one or two calls, while others receive none.

The system dates back to 1994 and was modeled after successful call box networks in Los Angeles and the Bay Area. Drivers who needed help could simply pick up the handset, no phone number required, and be connected directly to a dispatcher.

Over the years, the network has helped more than 600,000 people.

For Jeanie Hong, who lives in Sacramento, seeing the call boxes come down is personal. She helped originally map the locations of the call boxes on a digital map and performed maintenance on the system.

"I'm very familiar with the call boxes because I did the original mapping of all the call boxes on a digital map and I did a lot of maintenance on them," Hong said.

While the call boxes are going away, drivers will still have options if they become stranded.

The money saved by removing the aging infrastructure will help SACOG improve the region's 511 system, which will remain in place.

"You can still dial 511 from your phone or 911 and it links directly to our dispatch center here," said CHP Officer Trista Drake. "So they're going to dispatch whatever services you need, whether your car is broken down, you need medical services or whatnot."

For Hong, watching the call boxes disappear is a reminder of how much technology and everyday life have changed.

"It is kind of bittersweet," she said. "People and technology change, so you got to go with the flow."

The remaining call boxes are expected to be removed by the end of 2026.

If you're stranded on the road, you can still dial 511 for driver assistance or 911 for an emergency.