Along Highway 50, pay telephones are becoming lonelier than the road itself

Where have all the pay phones gone? That was my lament as I drove west on U.S. Highway 50, the Loneliest Road in America, from Baker at the Utah border to Carson City earlier this month.

Dubbed "the Loneliest Road" in 1986 by Life magazine, the communities along Highway 50 made lemonade out of lemons by promoting its remoteness to tourists, and developing the popular Highway 50 Survival Kit. Today, the commission's outreach to the young and restless focuses on the adventure of exploring the rugged and scenic Highway 50 and byways.

I'm a frequent driver of the 384-mile jaunt from Carson City to Baker, and the abridged version, 245 miles to Eureka. Cell-phone coverage on Highway 50 is chancy. It depends on the cell phone provider, the weather, how close you are to overshadowing mountains, the cell phone itself and fate.

I tangled with fate earlier this month when I returned from Baker. I stayed in a phone-less home in Eureka. When I needed to make a late-night call, I realized my cell phone had died, and the charger was home alone in Carson City, I went in search of a pay phone. Gas station? It's now a phantom phone booth, with wires dangling. The bar at the Owl Club? There's a sign, but no pay phone. The bartender confirmed that there are now no pay phones in Eureka, and directed me to the Best Western inn, which allows desperate visitors to make calling-card calls from the lobby phone.

Austin has fared no better. Last summer, I waited in line to use the pay phone at the Chevron station because my cell phone doesn't work in Austin. This year, the phone is gone, and cell coverage is no better.

In Silver Springs, I stopped for gas at the four-way intersection and observed an SBC/AT&T technician dismantling the two pay phones at the mini-mart. She confirmed that the company is pulling pay phones in rural Nevada because they are not profitable. With the proliferation of cell phones, pay phones just aren't bringing home the bucks for the newly merged telephone giant.

Although the town of Baker has no cell-phone coverage, the phone company yanked the pay phones in downtown Baker, gateway for visitors to the Great Basin National Park. Recently, Park Superintendent Cindy Nielsen won an (uphill) battle to convince the phone company to keep a pay phone at the Lehman Caves, up the hill.

The availability of a pay phone in each outpost community along the Loneliest Road is a matter of public safety and courtesy. It is what Nevada owes the tourists and travelers it is attracting to Nevada's outback. Most city folk expect that their cell phones will work everywhere. Well, on Highway 50, it depends. And in many areas, even in towns, there is no coverage at all.

The new lack of pay phones in rural Nevada raises several issues. Many rural Nevadans do not have cell phones due to the cost or the poor coverage. Residents of Nevada's remote communities still need the availability of a pay phone. Pay phone access is also important for public safety. And as long as the state of Nevada is campaigning to attract adventurous tourists to the Loneliest Road, the state should ensure that, at a minimum, there is a pay phone available in each community along the way.

How to pay for it? The Commission on Tourism could develop a grant program to integrate a pay phone along with a tourism-based kiosk to promote local tourism. Perhaps Nevada Department of Transportation has funds for roadside rest stops including emergency phones similar to the solar-powered Loneliest Phone in America at Sand Mountain, about 45 minutes east of Fallon. While the Public Utility Commission can't force a phone company to provide pay-phone service, due to federal deregulation, the pay-phone deficit could be addressed as a public safety issue at the state level

Until everyone has a cell phone and coverage is universal, pay phones should be available in Nevada's rural communities for residents and visitors.

The Loneliest Phone in America is already lonely enough.

• Abby Johnson is a resident of Carson City and a part-time resident of Baker. She consults on community development and nuclear waste issues. Her opinions are her own and do not necessarily reflect those of her clients.