Once a common sight along local highways, most of the bright yellow emergency roadside call boxes in Santa Barbara County have been removed.
Their decline marks the quiet end of a once-essential system, gradually replaced as mobile phones became ubiquitous and the standard way to call for help.
A 2019 review by the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments (SBCAG) found that calls from the boxes had dropped more than 90 percent over two decades, with nearly all remaining calls being equipment tests, according to SBCAG spokesperson Lauren Bianchi Klemann.
Working with Caltrans and the California Highway Patrol, SBCAG opted to remove 302 underused call boxes in areas with strong cell service and nearby assistance.
The removals began after the board’s 2019 decision and continued through 2020, Bianchi Klemann said.
Today, only 47 call boxes remain in service across the county. Most are located along Highway 101 near Gaviota and south of Buellton and Solvang, with others on Highway 154 and Highway 166, Bianchi Klemann said.
These rural and remote stretches leave drivers with fewer options when they need help, she noted.
SBCAG serves as the designated Service Authority for Freeway Emergencies (SAFE) in Santa Barbara County, overseeing motorist aid programs that include call boxes, Klemann said.
The program is funded by a $1 annual fee collected on each registered motor vehicle in the county, generating about $400,000 per year to cover the 24/7 call center, call box utilities, maintenance and administration.
Since the removals more than five years ago, estimated savings of more than $100,000 a year have gone toward decommissioning equipment, upgrading cellular capability on the remaining call boxes, and supporting future improvements, Bianchi Klemann said.
The 2019 decision followed a public review process with input from SBCAG’s board and state agencies.
“Any concerns were resolved through that process by maintaining call boxes in remote areas without cell service or roadside assistance, where they best support the Highway Patrol,” Bianchi Klemann said.
SBCAG is exploring potential new technologies to improve road safety and assist drivers, and the annual board update next summer may include more details, according to Bianchi Klemann.
Santa Barbara County is not alone.
The Ventura County Transportation Commission recently announced it will remove all 427 of its highway call boxes by September after usage dropped by 85 percent.
In a July news release, the agency said it plans to reinvest the savings into other roadside assistance programs, including expanded Freeway Service Patrol coverage and promotion of the 5-1-1 phone system, a traffic information telephone hotline.