The Service Authority for Freeways and Expressways program provides free emergency telephone service to stranded motorists through call boxes. The program is a joint effort between the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), the California Highway Patrol and the Transportation Agency.
In Monterey County, a system of 178 call boxes allows motorists to request roadside assistance along the following routes: State Route 1, State Route 68, US Highway 101, State Route 156, Jolon Road (G14 and G18) and Carmel Valley Road / Arroyo Seco Road (G16). Since the program’s inception in 1999, numerous system improvements have been implemented, including improved accessibility for disabled motorists, enhanced system coverage and faster response to call box calls. The call box system has also completed upgrades for digital service conversion, and speech and hearing impaired capability. In February of 2014, the Agency entered into a three-year maintenance and improvement contract to ensure all call boxes are maintained and to evaluate ADA access requirements. The contract was renewed for an additional three years in 2017. After release of a Request for Proposals for Call Box Maintenance and Improvements in April 2020, the Agency entered into a three-year contract with CASE Emergency Systems.
The call boxes are directly linked to a call answering center. Live operators dispatch the calls to the California Highway Patrol, tow truck operators and/or emergency services. The service level provided by the private call answering center exceeded expectations in fiscal year 2015 - 2016. In June 2016, following a competitive procurement process, the Agency approved a new three-year contract with Keolis Transit Services LLC to continue as the call box answering service provider. In May 2018, the contract with Keolis was assigned to AAMCOM LLC. In June 2019, the Agency exercised its option to extend the contract to June 2022.
The fiscal year 2018 - 2019 and 2019 - 2020 annual reports build upon the previous four annual reports to continue to provide consistent data to evaluate the program’s performance. Although cell phone usage has reduced the need for and use of call boxes in some locations, there remain areas not well served by cell phones, such as on parts of State Route 1, Jolon Road, parts of Carmel Valley Road and Arroyo Seco Road. In fiscal year 2018 - 2019, the number of calls was 476 with an average of 40 calls per month. Approximately fifty-one percent of the calls came from call boxes located along State Route 1, and all of the five most used call boxes were located along State Route 1. In fiscal year 2019 - 2020, the number of calls was 547 with an average of 46 calls per month. Approximately forty-four percent of the calls came from call boxes located along State Route 1, and four of the five most used call boxes were located along State Route 1.
The Agency has completed a multi-year usage analysis to determine if reducing the size of the call box system is warranted. The analysis showed a considerable decline in usage along State Route 1 north of Carmel, State Route 68, US Highway 101 and State Route 156. The decline corresponds to an increase in cell phone reception along these routes, as well as the continued proliferation of cell phone ownership. Based on this analysis, approximately 80% of the call box system in Monterey County could be considered for removal because of increased cell phone coverage and declining usage. Similar removal strategies are being considered or implemented by nearly all SAFE programs across California as increasing cell phone coverage is resulting in a statewide decline in call box use.
Given these considerations, the Agency has been working with Caltrans and the California Highway Patrol to develop a call box removal and modernization plan. The plan was completed in 2020 and was approved by Caltrans in December; it is awaiting CHP approval after which time staff will begin working on the implementation.