Information Technology and Government - The 511 Travel Information System

Using advanced technologies, the federal government and state governments have begun putting into place a nationwide travel information system known as 511. The 511 system is an attempt to unify the numerous automated information systems already operated by state and local governments. Dozens of cities and states set up these systems in the 1990s when cell phones and advanced communications became affordable. Callers and Internet users could retrieve information on traffic jams and road conditions over the phone or on the Web. ARTIMIS (Advanced Regional Traffic Interactive Management and Information Systems), for instance, was set up in 1995 to monitor traffic and alert people to traffic problems on eighty-eight miles of freeway in the Cincinnati metropolitan area. ARTIMIS uses cameras and hundreds of detectors to monitor the flow of traffic along these freeways. People can dial into the system at any time to retrieve the information.

Most of these systems, however, had one big flaw. To access them, drivers typically had to remember an unfamiliar, seven-digit number. Consequently these services were rarely used. Noticing this problem, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) approached the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and asked them to designate a three-digit number that would connect users to the local travel information anywhere in the country. The FCC chose 511. The number was short and would automatically be associated with the more widely used 411 and 911. Ultimately, the DOT wanted all driver information systems to adopt the 511 number, so that any driver in the country could receive information by simply dialing 511.

With the support of the DOT, a 511 Deployment Coalition was formed in 2001 by a number of federal and state agencies to establish guidelines and procedures for implementing local 511 travel information systems. According to the Implementation and Operational Guidelines for 511 Service published in September 2003 by the 511 Deployment Commission, 511 services should allow a driver to access automated recordings on travel conditions through a series of voice commands or touchtone commands on the phone. At bare minimum, the system should provide conditions for major arteries in the designated region.

Many widely developed systems such as ARTIMIS and TravInfo service in San Francisco adopted the number for their travel services right away. The DOT also began awarding $100,000 grants to states or cities without traffic advisory systems to fund implementation plans. Figure 7.1 displays the states, counties, and municipalities that used the 511 number and those that received funding to implement a system as of September 2004. The map shows that twenty-four separate locations had employed the 511 system. Usage statistics from www.deploy511.org revealed that in September, 1,239,607 calls had been placed in the 511 network, which was a 62% increase over the volume of calls placed in September 2003. The peak usage during the month corresponded to the hurricanes in the Southeast, Labor Day holiday travel, and inclement weather conditions. Usually, call volume is much greater in the winter and late fall than in the summer and spring.

FIGURE 7.1