The cellular phone call boxes will be disappearing from most San Diego County highways.

The San Diego Association of Governments ( SANDAG ) says that the number of roadside call boxes will be reduced from 1,259 to 379. The plan calls for removing all urban call boxes and one-third of rural call boxes. Call boxes will be retained in rural areas where cell phone service is weak. SANDAG says that the volume of calls from call boxes peaked at 140,000 calls annually in 1993 but has steadily declined since then with just 11,000 calls in 2017. Increased cell phone accessibility  and services such as OnStar are reasons for the drop. Roadside signs will be installed in place of some of the removed call boxes with a message to call 511 for roadside assistance. 

The call box program is funded by a one-dollar fee on vehicle registrations.