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TRANSACTIONS NEWSLETTER ONLINE

February 2003

Bay Area’s New 511 Telephone Service a Hit With Travelers

Ellen TauscherRep. Ellen Tauscher of Walnut Creek (left) talks with reporters about 511. (Photo: Chriss Poulsen)

Strong Demand Prompts MTC to Explore Adding Capacity
U.S. Rep. Ellen Tauscher keynoted a ceremony in Walnut Creek in December to celebrate the local debut of 511, a traveler information phone number being rolled out in stages nationwide. “511 is a good example of an intelligent transportation system project that uses technologies developed here in the Bay Area to reduce commute times,” said Tauscher, who serves on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and co-founded the House Intelligent Transportation Systems Caucus.

511The high-profile launch and media attention helped to propel usage to 10,000 calls on the first official day of Bay Area 511 service, which provides real-time information on traffic conditions throughout the nine-county region and also links to the phone information centers for five dozen public transit, paratransit and ridesharing agencies serving Northern California. Callers also can access information on bicycling as well as airport ground transportation and parking.

Demand has remained high during the first months of service, with the number of calls averaging 3,500 each weekday. The volume represents a large jump in usage over the Bay Area’s previous traveler information line, 817-1717, which averaged just 2,000 calls per day. The popularity can be attributed in part to the easy-to-remember, three-digit phone number and in part to a new voice-activated system that gives callers nearly instant access to information on their particular route.

Call volumes are likely to in- crease further as additional cell phone providers offer 511 service and as new features are introduced, including estimated driving times for various routes.

The heavier-than-expected demand has prompted MTC to begin exploring ways of boosting capacity by a third; currently the system can handle 96 simultaneous calls, a number that MTC hopes to increase to 120. The agency also will be beefing up a companion Web site, www.511.org, that was launched at the same time as the new phone service.

The Bay Area is the largest metropolitan area in the country, and the first in California, to activate the free phone service.
— John Goodwin

Transportation Management Center
Based at Caltrans District 4 headquarters in Oakland, the 511 data collection team taps into numerous sources of real-time traffic information, including the Transportation Management Center (shown above) housed in the same facility. (Photo: Caltrans)


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