Press Releases

For Immediate Release

Tauscher Teams with MTC to Unveil New Phone, Web Services

For Bay Area Traffic, Transit, Carpooling and Bicycling, Information Now as Easy as 5-1-1

CONTACT:

Joe Curley, MTC
510.817.5847

Randy Rentschler, MTC
510.817.5780

WALNUT CREEK, Calif., Dec. 6, 2002...The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) today will unveil the new 511 service it has developed to provide up-to-the-minute, on-demand information for transit riders, drivers, carpoolers, vanpoolers and bicyclists throughout the Bay Area.

U.S. Rep. Ellen Tauscher, who serves on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and co-founded the House Intelligent Transportation Systems Caucus, will keynote a ceremony at the Dean Lesher Regional Center for the Performing Arts to celebrate the local debut of a traveler information resource being rolled out in stages nationwide. The Bay Area is the largest metropolitan area in the country, and the first in California, to activate the 511 service.

"511 is all about customer convenience," said MTC Chair Sharon Brown. "It’s easy to remember. It’s easy to use. And it’s the only number you need to call to get all this information."

The new 511 number takes its place alongside 411 and 911 – easy-to-remember, three-digit phone numbers that provide important services to the public. In the case of 511, callers can use the toll-free service to get the most current reports on road conditions and traffic incidents for the routes they travel, as well as fare and schedule information from nearly three dozen Bay Area transit operators, 20 operators of paratransit services for elderly or disabled riders and nine transit agencies outside the Bay Area, plus information about carpooling, vanpooling and bicycling. Information also is available online at <www.511.org>.

"Either online or on the phone, 511 and 511.org are both designed to be a one-stop source of free information that all Bay Area travelers can use routinely," explains project manager Emily Van Wagner of MTC. "If you’re a driver, 511 will tell you if there’s a delay or road closure, and you can decide to take an alternate route or defer your trip. Public transit riders can be connected to transit operators to find out which route to take; when the next bus, train or ferry is scheduled to run; or how much the fare will be."

The Bay Area rollout of the 511 service is the result of a partnership between MTC, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), the California Highway Patrol (CHP), dozens of the region’s transit and paratransit operators, and RIDES for Bay Area Commuters Inc – which supplies carpooling, vanpooling, bicycling, and other commute option information, including information about transportation to airports. Much of the 511 system’s traffic information is provided directly via CHP reports, allowing 511 to tell drivers about an incident almost immediately.

Designed with a state-of-the-art, voice-enabled system, the 511 phone service is a big upgrade from the Bay Area’s previous regional transportation information number. "The new speech technology and the easy-to-remember number immediately make 511 more convenient for Bay Area residents and visitors alike," continued Van Wagner. "And we will continue to fine-tune the service as more users dial in."

To date, the 511 phone service can accommodate about 100 incoming calls at one time. The phone service is now ready for public use, as are the carpooling/vanpooling services on the 511.org Web site. Among the carpooling/vanpooling services is an online ridematching tool that offers a quick, easy way to find others interested in sharing their commute in a carpool or vanpool. MTC’s popular online transit planning and information service – now available at <www.transitinfo.org> – is being expanded to cover all Bay Area transit operators and will migrate to the 511.org Web site in early 2003. Also available in 2003 – via both phone and Web – will be a service providing actual travel times from point to point along key freeway routes.

"511 is a good example of an intelligent transportation system project and the use of technologies developed here in the Bay Area to reduce commute times," noted Rep. Tauscher. "It’s a partnership among a wide range of public and private agencies, and it’s built to grow. Not only will the service be activated in more states, but more capabilities will be added to the Bay Area 511 system."

511 is a free call from any land line – including pay phones – in most cities in the nine Bay Area counties. Charges from cell phones depend on the caller’s plan.

MTC and its public and private partners began developing the 511 system for the Bay Area in 2000, when the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) granted exclusive use of the 511 phone number to state and local transportation departments to distribute traveler information. In addition to the Bay Area, 511 systems are now in place or under development in Arizona, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Washington state, and parts of Florida, Virginia, and Nevada. The Bay Area’s 511 system offers the most sophisticated range of services for transit passengers, and is the best example of meeting the 511 Deployment Coalition’s National 511 Implementation Guidelines. Other regions are expected to use the Bay Area as a model for development of their own 511 systems.

MTC is the transportation planning, coordinating and financing agency for the nine-county Bay Area.

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