We should have free 3-minute public calling posts at bus stops and metro stations in Uzbekistan
I was recently thinking about how many times people ask strangers on the street to borrow their phone—usually because their battery died, they ran out of balance, or they lost connection.
While most people just want to make a quick call, handing your phone to a stranger is becoming risky due to scams (like people stealing 2FA verification codes, opening banking apps, or snatching the unlocked phone).
In Uzbekistan, we don't really have payphones anymore, but telecom plans here are super cheap (unlimited minutes costs very little). I think our city/telecom companies should install simple Public Emergency Call Posts at major bus stops, metro stations, and crowded city centers.
How it could work:
Free 3-minute calls: Anyone can walk up, dial a number, and let someone know where they are or ask for help.
No handsets to steal or break: Just a metal keypad, speaker, and microphone built directly into a wall or light post.
Smart limit to prevent abuse: If you call a specific number for 3 minutes, that specific number gets a 15-minute cooldown before it can be called from the kiosk again (so people can't camp on it).
Emergency lines (101, 102, 103, 104): Always free, no time limits, no cooldowns.
Since vandalism is quite low in our city centers and people generally respect public property, these wouldn't cost much to maintain and would make life so much safer and easier when your phone dies.
What do you guys think? Would something like this be useful in Tashkent and other cities, or do you think people wouldn't use it?