Dave Alley
SANTA MARIA, Calif. (KEYT) – Highway call boxes that have provided a communication link for motorists in need for nearly 40 years in Santa Barbara County could be removed at some point in the future.
On Thursday, the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments (SBCAG) received an update on the Service Authority for Freeway Emergencies (SAFE) Highway Call Box Program.
During the discussion, the Board reviewed call box use and costs, statewide trends, emergency coverage considerations and potential alternatives.
Call boxes in Santa Barbara County date back to 1987 and since have provided a communication link to a 24/7 call center that assist with a variety of roadside emergencies.
“This program has been around since the 80s,” said Steve Lavagnino, SBCAG Board of Directors. “The general idea around it was back in the day when you broke down, they gave you an opportunity to make sure that you weren’t just standing out there in the middle of nowhere.”
However, as cell phone ownership usage sharply increased over the past three decades, conversely the usage of call boxes have significantly decreased.
Data provided in an SBCAG staff report shows the call box system in Santa Barbara County has experienced an estimated 90 percent decline in call volume.
At one point there were more that 350 call boxes located throughout the county on a number of roadways.
Now, after a reduction took place in 2019, only 47 remain, all of them located on rural sections of Highways 101, 154 and 166.
There are now 12 on Highway 101, just south of Buellton and in the Gaviota area. Fifteen boxes are located on Highway 166 between Santa Maria and New Cuyama, while 20 are along Highway 154 on the San Marcos Pass between Los Olivos and Santa Barbara
In 1999, there were nearly 8,000 calls, but in 2024, the total amount had sunk below 200, and in the past year, some of the call boxes recorded zero calls.
Over the last fiscal year, the entire call box system received 153 total calls, for an average 12 calls per month, and each of the 47 remaining boxes row receive approximately 1.5 calls each year.
Due to the sharp decrease in usage, SBCAG reported the inflation-adjusted cost per call has increased from $0.42 in 1999 to an estimated $510 in 2025.
SBCAG reported asa call box usage has declined sharply, conversely program costs have continued to rise due to technology transitions, vendor consolidation, and increased call-answering and cellular service charges.
SBCAG reported funding for the system is currently just over $100,000, which is directed towards maintenance, staffing, California Highway Patrol (CHP) and other needs.
Board members must decide to either keep the system going in some capacity or to remove it altogether.
“Things have changed,” said Lavagnino. “The idea we’re looking at right now is, is it really time to move on from the call box, but at the same time, there’s areas out on the 166 where you don’t want to leave people in a lurch, so there’s that balance out there. When you only have 90 calls and the program costs us $100,000 a year, you start talking about, wow, we’re not sure that this is really making a lot of sense or is the best use of people’s money.”
Longtime Santa Maria Mayor Alice Patino, who also serves on the SBCAG Board, expressed her concerns Thursday about the potential removal of the call boxes, especially on Highway 166.
“166 bothers me because that is a road I do travel often and there are so many dead zones around there,” said Patino. “If someone has a battery go dead, if there’s a car accident, and maybe you forget to take your cell phone, or maybe if there is an accident, that really concerns me, and how far you have to walk to a call box. The maintenance of the call boxes are very, very expensive, but I think we have to weigh the safety issue.”
Over the past several years, many other counties across California have either discontinued call box service or significantly reduced it.
Neighboring Ventura County discontinued usage, while Monterey County has scaled back its system to include rural corridors only.
Other counties that have removed service includes Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Santa Cruz, and Merced counties, while San Diego and some of the Bay Area counties have had partial reductions.
San Luis Obispo County just recently decided to remove the few remaining call boxes along its roadways and will end the system at some point in within the current fiscal year.
No action was taken by the SBCAG Board since Thursday’s presentation was scheduled to be a “receive and file” agenda item.
After a discussion that lasted nearly 40 minutes, the SBCAG Board of Directors decided to revisit the issue again later this year in the fall.
“We’ll bring up different options and the Board may want to pursue a specific option,” said Peter Wiliamson, SBCAG Transportation Planner. “We’ll present probably the alternatives. The board may want to look at the budget as a whole beyond the call box program and how can we best support the users of our system and how can we get the best bang for the buck? They’ll take a vote on the path that makes the most sense for the region.”
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