But it’s not yet the end of the line for the city’s 3,400 coin-operated payphones – although each costs about HK$6,000 a year to maintain – with differing views over what to do with them following a Communications Authority review that started last year on removing those with low usage.

Those who support their removal say the booths are now an obstruction for pedestrians and get in the line of sight of drivers, or take up too much space on narrow pathways.

Others argue that certain ones must be kept for emergency purposes, while some suggest adding new functions to booths such as allowing the use of Octopus cards, offering a battery charging service, or installing Wi-fi connections.

The increasing penetration of smartphones has not helped the humble phone booth, which is widely seen as grimy and smelly. As of last year, Hongkongers on average owned more than 2½ mobile phones, one of the highest rates in the world.

At the end of 2016, there were 3,400 public payphones, of which 46 per cent were in street kiosks. Another 44 per cent were in-building types found in public facilities, and the remaining 10 per cent were emergency helplines mainly located in country parks.

Some 56 per cent had an average daily revenue of less than HK$1, the authority said.

So far, about 500, both in-building and kiosk types, have been removed, a spokesman said.

“The review is intended to reduce the number of public payphones to a reasonable level in accordance with the needs of the public,” he said.

“By keeping only those payphones that are still needed by the public, it will help free up space on the streets and alleviate potential obstruction problems.”

The telecoms industry funds the payphones. Statistics from the Office of the Communications Authority show that in 2017, the industry spent more than HK$18 million on maintaining public payphones, with each costing about HK$6,000. PCCW-HKT provided 95 per cent of them in 2015.

Adding new functions to existing payphones and making them smart is one option.

Service provider Hong Kong Telecommunications (HKT) says it has been working with the authority to modernise selected booths into smart kiosks.

The idea is to offer online information services as well as to provide Wi-fi hotspots and cells to aid the development of 5G mobile services, an HKT spokesman said, adding the plan supports the government’s move to make Hong Kong a smart city.

Since the review of the booths began in March last year, 14 of the 18 district councils have been consulted. The remaining four – Southern, Wong Tai Sin, North and Sai Kung districts – are expected to be consulted by the end of March.

There are 80 public payphones in Wan Chai district but 36, or 45 per cent, have average daily revenue of no more than HK$1.

The council has been in talks with the authority on which ones to remove.

“It depends on the location of the payphones,” said district councillor Clarisse Yeung Suet-ying. “Some are blocking the streets but others are in places that are convenient for residents as well as tourists.”

It is a different story in areas such as Islands district.

In remote areas of the district, which covers Lantau, Lamma and smaller outlying islands, mobile network coverage is poor or non-existent, so public payphones are necessary in case of emergency, the district council says, although 18 out of the 22 phones have daily revenue of less than HK$1.

Pui O, for example, is a popular camping destination on Lantau Island. The council suggested keeping the payphone near Pui O bus stop for campers to use in an emergency.

The authority has proposed that at least one phone at each in-building location and one kiosk in a remote area without mobile coverage be retained.

After the authority decides to remove a payphone, HKT may follow the decision or retain it at its own cost. So far, HKT has largely agreed on removals, the authority says.

Hong Kong is not alone when it comes to deciding on the future of its phone boxes. Even in Britain the plug was almost pulled on the classic red telephone box.

Telecoms giant BT Group announced in mid-2017 it would remove half of Britain’s 40,000 phone boxes over a five-year period because of declining usage, which fell by more than 90 per cent in the past decade. At their peak in 1992, there were 92,000 phone boxes in Britain.

But to rejuvenate the iconic feature, Britain has come up with creative measures.

For example, in 2014, a disused phone box in London was painted green and converted into a free solar-powered charging station for mobile devices. Local communities have also been encouraged to transform low-use booths by buying them for £1 from BT under an Adopt a Kiosk scheme.

So far, more than 4,000 kiosks have been turned into mini libraries, art galleries, information centres, shops, exhibition spaces or for housing defibrillators.

In New York, booths are no longer just a place for Superman to change in. The city started converting more than 7,500 public kiosks into “LinkNYC” kiosks in 2016 which include free Wi-fi, a tablet to access city services, maps and directions and charging facilities – and for making calls.

Yeung, from Wan Chai, suggested keeping some kiosks and learning from these countries to revive them, including adding functions such as Octopus Card add-value services, mobile phone charging and internet connections.

“Wan Chai is a popular tourist area. We can distribute maps and tourist guides at certain booths to make it easier for visitors and even turn them into attractions,” she said.

“One just has to be creative.”