TPSA blames vandals for increase in the charges for using pay phones

In what is being described by Gazeta Wyborcza as an increase by stealth, since July 1 the cost of calling from a pay phone has risen by upwards of 10%. In effect, the daily says, TPSA has increased the price of a phone card. Depending on the card used, it now costs either zl.0.45 or zl.0.40 per unit to use a pay phone, compared to zl.0.35 for dialling from home. According to Michal Potocki, spokesman for the TPSA department dealing with pay phones, following last year's separation of its businesses TPSA found that revenues from phone cards did not cover costs. One reason for this, he explained, is the cost of maintenance, which is high for pay phones since they are frequently vandalized. (Gazeta Wyborcza, p. 24) P.W.