do you have 511
 

511 SERVICE: The N.C. Board of Transportation voted yesterday to
approve $2 million for a private company to design, build and operate
N.C. 511, a telephone service for travelers. State transportation
officials expect to award a contract by December, advertise the number
in April and take callers by May. The Federal Communications Commission
designated 511 three years ago for travel information throughout the
country. So far, it is being used in at least 18 areas including
Kentucky, South Florida, the San Francisco Bay area and the Interstate
81 corridor in Virginia. Federal transportation officials hope it can be
used nationwide. North Carolina received $1.6 million from the federal
government for the project. Travelers will be able to get information on
road conditions and can be linked to information on rail and ferry
service, state tourism and to the DOT customer service line. Motorists
in the Triad will be able to get further information on such local
transit services as buses and on-demand transportation for medical
patients. JoAnn Oerter, who manages the 511 project for the N.C.
Department of Transportation, expects that it could cost $1 million a
year to operate the 511 system. Officials expect to field 1.8 million
phone calls the first year and another 100,000 each year after that as
other areas make information on transit services available as the Triad
plans to do. (Dana Damico, WINSTON-SALEM JOURNAL, 11/07/03).