No better than Traveline or PTI

Sacramento Region Launches Comprehensive 511 Travel Information Telephone Number and Web Site: "9/1/2004 10:00:00 AM

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Sep 1, 2004 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Just in time for the Labor Day travel rush, the Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG) in partnership with Caltrans today announced activation of a new '511' comprehensive travel information telephone number and Web site for the Sacramento region and beyond.

The new number replaces and consolidates the proliferation of travel information numbers into one easy-to-use and remember telephone number for all of the region's transportation agencies. Now, travelers have at their fingertips information about traffic conditions, public transportation, paratransit for elderly and disabled travelers, carpooling and vanpooling, telecommuting, Amtrak and bicycling throughout the Sacramento region.
Travelers can dial the toll-free service from wireless and landline phones in the region, which includes El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, Sutter, Yolo and Yuba counties, as well as Butte, Glenn and Nevada counties. The service provides links to already established 511 systems in the San Francisco Bay Area and Oregon. It is available in both English and Spanish.

"As the region's transportation planning agency, we are pleased to provide this quick and easy service for the region's travelers -- whether by train, plane, bus, automobile or bicycle," said SACOG Board Chair Christopher Cabaldon. "This service represents a giant leap forward in traveler information for the Sacramento region," Cabaldon said.

Information for 511 comes from the California Highway Patrol, Caltrans, SACOG, more than 20 transit operators, Amtrak, the Sacramento International Airport and the National Weather Service, among others. Funding for 511 is provided through local transportation resources.

The Web address for 511 is "www.sacregion511.org." The site will help users plan their daily commute, access transit providers, find a carpool partner, and learn about bicycling as a commute option. With the traffic information on the site, users can check commute conditions and know the road before they go, and call 511 for traffic updates once they've hit the road.

Caltrans already has posted 17 road signs bearing the distinctive 511- swirl logo that will notify travelers of the availability of the new service. Street banners are also planned for downtown Sacramento and other cities in the region.

"Caltrans is excited about being a part of this one-stop source for travel, traffic, transit and commuter information," said Caltrans Designated Interim Director Randell H. Isakawa.

The Sacramento regional service is part of a federally sponsored effort to provide travelers nationwide with one information number, like the 911 emergency number and 411 information number. The nation's first 511 service was launched in June 2001 in northern Kentucky and the Cincinnati, Ohio metro area.

Thus far only a handful of states have implemented 511 service; in the west Utah, Oregon, Nevada, the Bay Area and now Sacramento have 511. While Sacramento is the second area in California to implement 511, the service could eventually expand to include several counties north to the Oregon border and east to Nevada.

There is no TDD number for 511, but disabled persons can access the information through the 711 disabled information telephone number.

The Sacramento Area Council of Governments is the Sacramento region's transportation planning and funding agency. For further information, please contact Phyllis Miller, Communication Manager, at (916) 340-6224. "

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