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For Immediate Release

511 TRAFFIC INFORMATION MOVES INTO FAST LANE

Bay Area First to Offer Point-to-Point Driving Times

CONTACT:

John Goodwin
510.817.5862

Randy Rentschler
510.817.5780

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OAKLAND, Calif., March 24, 2004... The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) today added on-demand, point-to-point driving times to its popular 511 phone service, making the Bay Area the first metropolitan area in the U.S. to offer this level of detail on traffic conditions through a toll-free 511 system. Tapping data from FasTrak® toll transponders and constantly-updated information from Caltrans, the 511 Driving Times feature tells commuters the current travel time between cities or major landmarks in the Bay Area, and if there are any incidents on the route. Driving time information also is now available online at a new Traffic Website at www.511.org.

The 511 Driving Times service currently is available along the entire Interstate 80 corridor from San Francisco to Highway 12 east near Suisun City (including the Bay Bridge and Carquinez Bridge), Interstate 880 from the MacArthur Maze to Fremont, and Interstate 680 from Highway 4 in Pacheco to Interstate 580 in Dublin/Pleasanton. Over the next year, this first-of-its-kind service will be expanded regionwide and will be available for all major Bay Area highways and bridges.

“We’re continuing to install equipment on more routes,” explained Michael Berman, MTC’s 511 Traffic Project Manager. “The next phase will include U.S. 101 from San Francisco to Santa Rosa, U.S. 101 and Interstate 280 on the Peninsula, the Dumbarton and San Mateo-Hayward bridges, and Interstate 580 from Albany to San Rafael.”

511 Driving Times
To access the new 511 Driving Times service on the available routes, callers using 511’s state-of-the-art voice activation system need only ask for “Driving Times” and then say their starting and destination points. 511 automatically provides the estimated driving time and incidents along that route.

To identify origin and destination points, callers can say the name of cities, such as “Oakland” or “San Francisco”; landmarks, such as “Bay Bridge Toll Plaza,” “Hospital Curve” and “PacBell Park”; or highways such as “I-80” or “Nimitz Freeway.” For larger cities, the automated operator will prompt callers to refine their starting and ending points for requested locations, if they so desire. These points include exits and highway junctions. Callers can always ask for “help” to get a list of options. 511 will then provide the current driving time between these points. The system also will provide an alternate route and its current drive time if an alternative is available.

Once drivers are informed of the current travel time, 511 Driving Times also will tell them about any current incidents along their route, based on real-time data collected by the California Highway Patrol.

“The most frustrating part about being stuck in traffic,” noted MTC spokesman Randy Rentschler, “is not knowing how long you’ll be there. If you want to know how late you’re going to be for work, or when you’re going to get home, you can just call 511 anytime, day or night. It’s easy, and it’s free.”

New Software Makes Breakthrough Possible
Introduction of the 511 Driving Times service is made possible by a new version of the software that updates the 511 traffic reports. In addition to point-to-point driving times, the 511 phone service now offers a whole range of enhanced traffic features, including a faster voice response system; more flexible menu navigation that allows callers to request conditions on various freeways without having to go back to the traffic conditions menu; more detail about incident locations, including the city in which the incident is located; and more specifics about traffic slowdowns — complete with actual traffic speeds triggered when the average speed falls below 40 miles per hour. Callers who ask for “traffic information” also have a new option that allows them to be transferred to the FasTrak® customer service center.

For more help in avoiding tie-ups, motorists soon will be able to check a new 511 Driving Times page at www.511.org before they get behind the wheel. “This is cutting-edge technology,” says Rentschler. “All the options available on the phone will be available on the Web.”

Stressing 511’s unprecedented use of technology, Rentschler commented, “We’re providing a level of service that hasn’t even been attempted anywhere else. So we’re prepared to deal with bugs in the system. We really want people to test drive 511 Driving Times and give us feedback on their experience. It will help make the system work better for everyone.”

About 511
511 is the Bay Area’s one-stop resource for free traffic, transit, ridesharing and bicycling information. Much like 411 or 911, the 511 phone service is an easy-to-remember, three-digit number. Callers can use the free phone service to get the most current reports on road conditions and traffic incidents, as well as fare and schedule information from over 40 public transportation operators and 20 paratransit operators, plus information about carpooling, vanpooling and bicycling.

The 511 Web site at www.511.org features MTC’s popular TakeTransit(SM) Trip Planner, plus an online ridematching tool for carpoolers and links to other resources — with the online version of 511 Driving Times just one of many new features. Soon, the 511 Web site will offer online FasTrak® applications.

Part of a phased national rollout of 511 phone service, the Bay Area’s 511 system was launched in December 2002 through a partnership between MTC, Caltrans, CHP, and dozens of transit and paratransit operators. The Bay Area is the largest metropolitan area in the country, and the first in California to activate a 511 system. The service currently receives over 45,000 calls per week, and was the recipient of a 2003 California Department of Transportation Award for transportation management, the 2003 Innovation Award from the American Public Transportation Association, and the Best Public Innovation and Best Partnership Awards from the California Alliance for Advanced Transportation Systems.

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


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