511

511 Phone and Web Service

Overview
511 is a free phone and Web service that consolidates Bay Area transportation information into a one-stop resource. 511 provides up-to-the-minute information on traffic conditions, incidents and driving times, schedule, route and fare information for the Bay Area’s public transportation services, instant carpool and vanpool referrals, bicycling information and more. It’s available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

511 is managed by a partnership of public agencies led by MTC, the California Highway Patrol, and the California Department of Transportation.

511 Coverage Area
511's phone service is available in the entire nine county Bay Area, on nearly all landline and cellular phones. Below is a list of the Bay Area counties covered by 511:

• Alameda
• Contra Costa
• Marin
• Napa
• San Francisco
• San Mateo
• Santa Clara
• Solano
• Sonoma

511 Accessibility
MTC staff met with its Elderly and Disabled Advisory Committee for guidance and review of the phone and Web service. Both were enhanced with specific recommendations from this committee. Phone users who are hearing impaired can call 711, the national three-digit number for access to the Telecommunication Relay Services (TRS), to access 511.

Speech-impaired callers can similarly use 711 or can use the back-up, touch-tone system that 511 offers. To access the touch-tone function, press zero at each menu to hear the menu options and corresponding touch tone commands.

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511 Phone Content and Features

Wireless Providers Who Offer 511:

• AT&T Wireless
• Cingular
• MetroPCS
• Nextel
• Sprint
• T-Mobile
• Verizon Wireless

A very small percentage of telephone providers do not support access to 511.

Public Transportation
511 provides toll-free transfers to Bay Area transit agencies so you don’t have to remember agency phone numbers any longer. Through our partnership with the transit agencies, 511 can provide you with information on routes, schedules, fares, bikes on transit, accessibility and service updates. When you call 511, you can ask for the name of a transit agency from the Transit Agencies Menu within the Public Transportation Menu or use a shortcut from the Main Menu. If you are not sure what agency you’d like, you can say, “I don’t know” at the Transit Agencies Menu to hear a list of choices. Once you’ve made your selection, 511 will either play a recorded message for select options (e.g., fares, passes, etc.) or transfer your call to a live transit agency operator.

At 511’s main menu, you can say the following shortcuts to bypass the menu structure:

• Public Transportation Agencies
• AC Transit
• BART
• Caltrans
• Golden Gate
• Muni
• Paratransit
• Samtrans
• VTA

Note that this is a subset of all agencies for which information is provided.

At the Public Transportation Menu, 511 provides the following:

Transit Agency Information
Transfers to agency operators, routes, schedules, fares, service announcements, lost-and-found and customer service for more than 40 transit providers.

Commuter Incentives
Toll-free transfers to an operator who provides information about programs that offer financial incentives for commute alternatives, including the commuter tax benefit program and free services for commuters. Operator hours are Monday-Friday, 8am – 5pm. A message service is available for after-hours questions.

Airports
Toll-free transfers to an operator who provides information about public transportation, ground transportation, and shuttle services for San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose and Sacramento airports.

Paratransit Agency information
Information for approximately 20 paratransit agencies serving persons with disabilities or the elderly, including shuttle services, public transportation, and customer service.

Traffic
Enhanced software supports an array of features on the 511 phone system that enable MTC to provide high quality traffic information. The features include:

Traffic Conditions
511’s Traffic Conditions provides current incidents and average speeds when traffic is moving less than 40 miles per hour. It also provides road closure information from CHP, Caltrans, and other transportation agencies. To select a route, you can simply say, “101” instead of “Highway 101,” or to be more specific, say “101 North.” As with the rest of the 511 system, you can interrupt the operator at any time. While 511 is giving you incident information, you can say “next” to skip to the next incident.

511 Driving Times^SM
511 Driving Times^SM provides actual driving times for specific routes based on real-time traffic information. When you call 511, ask for “Driving Times” at the Main Menu. Once you get to the Driving Times Menu, the system will prompt you for your starting point. This can be a city, like ”Richmond,” a bridge, like the “Bay Bridge,” or a hot spot, like “Network Associates Coliseum.” 511 will then ask for your ending point. Certain larger cities have multiple starting/ending points to enable 511 to provide you with a more accurate driving time. Please note some of the location selections are outside the current coverage for 511 Driving Times^SM. Driving Times for these locations will be added as the system expands.

Airports
Provides information about traffic conditions, ground transportation and parking rates for San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, and Sacramento airports. Oakland International Airport also provides, when available, parking-status information.

FasTrak®
Transfers toll-free to an operator who has information on the FasTrak® Electronic Toll Collection program. Operator hours are 7am – 7pm Monday-Friday, and 9am – 1pm on Saturdays. The FasTrak® program is a way for drivers to pay Bay Area bridges tolls via an electronic transponder. FasTrak® users are able to drive non-stop through toll plazas in dedicated FasTrak® lanes, and the tolls are automatically deducted from their prepaid FasTrak® accounts.

Carpooling and Vanpooling
At the Main Menu ask for any of the following: “carpooling, vanpooling or rideshare”, and 511 will connect you with an operator who can explain how to join a carpool or vanpool, and provides information on rideshare incentives, tax benefits, commuter checks, park-and-ride lots, and rules about diamond/HOV lanes (express lanes on freeways). Operator hours are Monday-Friday, 8am – 5pm, but a message service is available for after-hours questions.

Bicycling
Ask for “bicycling” at the Main Menu, and 511 will connect you with an operator with answers to bicycling questions, including how to get bike maps, tips for taking a bike on transit and across Bay Area bridges, and how to get in touch with local bicycling organizations. Operator hours are Monday-Friday, 8am – 5pm, but a message service is available for after-hours questions.

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511 Web Content and Features

Transit
This on-line version of the transit information service features the 511 TakeTransit™ Trip Planner. This automated Web-based tool assists in planning Bay Area transit trips. By typing in the starting and ending points, the Trip Planner will return the most efficient routes, including walking maps to and from transit. The Popular Destinations feature offers information on how to travel to famous or familiar Bay Area sites using transit. Other features include transit schedules and route maps, fare information and paratransit information for the elderly and disabled.

Traffic
511 Traffic provides information via the Internet about travel on Bay Area freeways and expressways. The traffic page includes 511 Driving Times^SM, Bay Area traffic maps, and FasTrak® information. The traffic maps are interactive and help the user to calculate driving times for their routes. The map also shows traffic alerts, incidents, levels of congestion, special events and construction information. As well, the traffic page at 511.org provides Popular 511 Driving Times^SM information, showing the driving times of the most popular commuter routes in the Bay Area.

Rideshare
511's new Rideshare Page makes it even easier to find information about alternatives to driving alone. The 511 Online Ridematching service can help in finding members for a carpool or vanpool. The service is free, easy, and can provide instant information on starting a carpool and vanpool. The site also provides the locations of carpool lanes and park-and-ride lots as well as information on incentives for carpoolers and vanpoolers.

Bicycling
511's Bicycling Page (bicycling.511.org) serves as a resource for bicycling commuters and recreational cyclists. The new site provides useful information, including safety tips, bike maps, tips for taking bikes on transit and across Bay Area bridges, information on local bicycling organizations, and announcements that affect the Bay Area's bicycling community.