Press Releases

For Immediate Release

MTC, 511 System Win National Honors

Public Transportation Group Lauds Free Bay Area Phone, Web Service

CONTACT:

Randy Rentschler
510.817.5780

John Goodwin
510.817.5862

OAKLAND, Calif., Sept. 30, 2003...The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) today received the prestigious Innovation Award from the American Public Transportation Association at APTA’s Annual Meeting in Salt Lake City. The Innovation Award is given annually to a public transportation system or other organization that has designed and implemented programs that demonstrate innovative concepts or effective problem-solving techniques not previously applied in the public transportation field. APTA honored MTC for the 511 traveler information system launched in the Bay Area in December 2002. The popular, toll-free service – which can be accessed by calling 511 or online at <www.511.org> – provides up-to-the-minute, on-demand information for transit riders, drivers, carpoolers and bicyclists throughout the nine-county region.

MTC and a host of public and private partners began developing the 511 system for the Bay Area in 2000, when the Federal Communications Commission granted exclusive use of the 511 phone number to state and local transportation departments to distribute traveler information. The Bay Area’s 511 phone service now receives more than 53,000 calls each month, and earlier in September handled its one-millionth call. MTC plans a number of enhancements to both the 511 phone and 511.org services in the weeks ahead. These will include an all-new 511 Transit Web page with the popular TakeTransitSM online transit trip planner, a new feature known as 511 Driving Times that uses the latest technology to inform drivers how long it will take to go from point to point on the Bay Area freeway system, and a carpooling promotion known as Rideshare Thursdays.

In addition to the Bay Area, 511 systems are now in place or under development in more than a dozen states. The Bay Area is the largest metropolitan area in the country, and the first in California, to activate the 511 service.

Callers to 511 can get 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 region – plus the most current reports on road conditions and traffic incidents for the routes they travel, and information about carpooling, vanpooling and bicycling.

"Whether you use the phone and dial 511 or go online to 511.org, the system is designed to be a one-stop source of free information that all Bay Area travelers can use every day," explains project manager Michael Berman of MTC. "If you’re a driver, 511 tells you if there’s a delay or road closure, and you can decide to go ahead as planned, take an alternate route or put off 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.

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 combination of the easy-to-remember number and the new speech technology make 511 a lot more convenient," continued Berman. "And we will continue to fine-tune the service to make it even easier to use."

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

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