May/June
2001
5-1-1:
Traffic Help May Soon Be Three Digits Away
by
S. Lawrence Paulson
You're
running late for a morning appointment all the way across town. It's
rush hour, and you're afraid the freeway may be jammed again. There's
not enough time to wait for the radio traffic report. Should you take
an alternate route? Is it faster to take the subway? Is there someone
you can call?
Soon,
there will be. Travel information like this will someday be only three
digits away - 5-1-1, to be exact.
On
July 21, 2000, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) granted
a request by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to provide
a three-digit "N-1-1" number for states and local jurisdictions
across the country to provide travel information. FCC chose 5-1-1.
The FCC announcement noted that DOT "expects that the widespread
use of the 5-1-1 dialing code will [reduce] congestion and pollution
on our nation's roads, lower
fuel consumption, provide superior traffic management, enhance roadway
safety, and enable the public to make wise travel decisions."
On the same day, then-Secretary of Transportation Rodney Slater announced
a program that would provide grants of up to $50,000 for states and
local jurisdictions to convert existing travel information numbers
to 5-1-1. Slater called the FCC decision a "visionary, landmark
action that will change the way America travels into the 21st century."
He added that "5-1-1's delivery of travel information to virtually
every American will provide choices in our professional and personal
lives that will save lives, time, and money."
Better
Than the Radio
Why a single three-digit number? Simply put, as evidenced by the near
universal recognition of the 9-1-1 emergency number, three-digit numbers
work. They're easy to remember. They can be dialed quickly. They don't
change from region to region.
In presenting
its request to FCC, DOT noted that during a three-month period in
1997 in which Kentucky residents dialed 2-1-1 to reach a traveler
information service and Ohio residents dialed 333-3333 to access the
same information, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet reported that
72 percent more calls were made to the three-digit number.
"There
are at least 300 telephone numbers that are run by city and state
transportation agencies across the country, both highway and public
transit," said Bill Jones, technical director of DOT's ITS (Intelligent
Transportation Systems) Joint Program Office. "At last count,
there were 11 telephone numbers you have to know to find out what's
going on in the District of Columbia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey,
and New York.
"And
not only that, but in many cases, cities in a particular jurisdiction
have one number, and the state has another number. Obviously, this
is an impossible situation for the traveling public. I don't know
any of those numbers in the D.C. area, and I doubt that you do, either,"
Jones said. "So the problem is: How do we allow the traveling
public to access the information that transportation agencies have
and want the public to have? We felt that a three-digit dialing code
that you could call nationwide no matter where you were would be a
way to make it easy for the traveling public to use that data - to
get that information."
And telephone
travel services can provide a menu of choices, even offering customized
information and detailed data that would be impossible to present
in a short radio spot. In fact, DOT has reported that, generally,
there is substantially more traffic information available as can be
reported during a 30-second radio report, even assuming that out-of-town
travelers would be able to find out which local stations broadcast
traffic information.
In the
northern Kentucky-Cincinnati metropolitan area, where telephone traffic
information has been made available by ARTIMIS (Advanced Regional
Traffic Interactive Management and Information System) since 1995,
26 different menu choices are available to callers, 18 of them covering
different highway segments or downtown areas. A private company actually
implemented and operates the system for the state. The system is available
from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday; however, if a significant
problem remains at 7 p.m., the system is kept in operation until traffic
is back to normal. ARTIMIS is also available during certain special
events, and two supervisors are always on duty during the closed hours
and can be paged, if necessary, by an emergency agency or dispatch
center.
Information
is gathered from highway devices (closed-circuit video cameras, radar
detectors, video-imaging detectors, reference markers, and inductive
loops), freeway service patrols, an aircraft, a network of drivers
who serve as reporters, police, fire departments, emergency communicators,
and construction personnel. All of that makes for a far more comprehensive
traffic report than even the best-equipped radio station can hope
to present using its own resources.
Not
a Federal Mandate
Of course, simply designating 5-1-1 as the universal traveler information
number is only a first step in actually establishing a national information
system. Making this vision a reality will require a high level of
cooperation among state and local governments, regulatory agencies,
and private entities.
"It's
really up to the state and local governments to come to the conclusion
that they want to implement 5-1-1, and then sit down with one another
and decide how it is to be done," said Jones. "We can't
force them. This is not a federal mandate. This is not a federal program
per se."
Nonetheless,
DOT has been given primary responsibility for guiding the voluntary
5-1-1 effort. Key incentives are the $100,000 grants available for
states wishing to embark on a 5-1-1 program. The funds are to support
planning activities that are necessary to coordinate all state and
local jurisdictions that may play a role in the deployment of 5-1-1.
This program should help answer the question: "Who answers the
call?" And the answer depends on where the caller is located.
A total of $5 million will be made available over three fiscal years,
and the states will be required to ante up at least $20,000 of their
own money. The non-federal share can come from state or local governments
or the private sector and can consist of cash, substantial equipment
contributions that are entirely used for the conversion, or personnel
services dedicated full-time to the conversion for a substantial period.
"The
funds are not aimed at jurisdictions that don't have an existing traveler
information system," Jones said. "They're aimed at those
that have already established one and want to convert to a single
number."
Noting
that there are other federal-aid funds available to states and municipalities
that have not yet established an information system, Jones added,
"We want to encourage all cities and states to begin the process
of developing that kind of information."
DOT is
getting assistance in spreading the word about 5-1-1 from a national
coalition led by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation
Officials (AASHTO) and including the Intelligent Transportation Society
of America (ITS America), the American Public Transit Association,
states, metropolitan areas, transit properties, associations, private-sector
providers, and telecommunications interests. The 5-1-1 Deployment
Coalition, supported by a working group, has been formed to spearhead
5-1-1 outreach, coordination, and assistance.
What
does this outreach effort involve?
"One thing is trying to work with people to understand what 5-1-1
is and what it isn't," said Bob Rupert, a team leader in the
Federal Highway Administration's Office of Travel Management. "It's
not a way for people to report accidents. It's not a replacement for
9-1-1 or anything. It's just a means of allowing people to access
information so they'll make better choices easier by using the telephone.
"The
other thing that will be happening over the next few months is that
we're working with some areas of the country that we're calling 'early
implementers' or 'early adopters.' Hopefully, they'll be able to share
some of their lessons learned so that it's not so brand new - not
so mysterious - because dealing with telephone companies - dealing
with telecommunications - is generally a little bit foreign for the
[state and local] departments of transportation," Rupert said.
In addition
to Kentucky, early adopters include Arizona, the San Francisco Bay
area, Michigan, Minnesota, and Utah. Jones noted that representatives
from many of these jurisdictions helped pave the way for FCC's decision
to adopt 5-1-1. (See www.its.dot.gov for reports on the early adopters.)
"And
because they were so active and really in the forefront, we asked
if they would be early adopters," he said. "There's no money
attached to this, but we felt that, because they're so far along,
we could learn something from the process they're going through. We're
tracking what they do and writing reports on what they're learning."
Besides
spreading the word about 5-1-1, DOT and its partners must also make
crucial decisions about how the system will operate. Jones noted that
FCC called for uniform national standards and that an early task for
the 5-1-1 coalition will be deciding just what this involves.
"We'd
like to have a policy on what kind of consistency there should be
from region to region and state to state," Jones said. "Is
that consistency limited to the greeting you get when you dial the
number? That's about as minimal as you can get. Or should there be
more than that?
"We
have also asked [the coalition], should the traveling public expect
a certain minimum capability - a certain minimum quality of information
- when they dial 5-1-1? Also, should there be consistency on who pays?
Is this going to be something the state and local governments pay
for, or do they want to charge the traveling public for a telephone
call? Those are the kinds of questions that are being posed."
At the
meeting of the Deployment Coalition on March 29, 2001, the coalition
said, "Yes, we want guidelines for 5-1-1." And they charged
the working group with drafting guidelines in these areas.
Some
Key 5-1-1 Issues
The final decisions about the shape of 5-1-1 will be made by the state
and local governments implementing the program. In an effort to help
these jurisdictions begin the planning process, DOT's ITS Joint Program
Office issued a paper outlining some key 5-1-1 issues. They include:
Ensuring regional cooperation. The FCC order assumes that the
telephone-based traveler information systems will be multimodal, including
information on transit and commuter rail as well as traffic, weather,
and construction. Each agency that currently
provides such information likely has its own telephone number, but
the 5-1-1 program has made it possible for all transportation agencies
in a region to share a single number. To make a single number work,
all agencies wishing to use the number must determine the exact implementation
of the service. Both the state regulatory agency and area telecommunications
providers will need to be involved in the planning process.
Deciding how and where to route calls. There will be
situations where calls can be routed to more than one logical location.
For example, Columbia, Md., is a city located halfway between Washington
and Baltimore, with many residents working in Washington and many
working in Baltimore. When residents call 5-1-1, from which city will
they get information? Another issue is the fact that wireline calling
boundaries do not necessarily match up to political jurisdictions.
Having
a single point of contact. Communications carriers have a particular
way of doing business and use somewhat unique terminology. Carriers
have stated that it greatly simplifies answering questions and resolving
issues if there is a single point of contact with whom they can work.
Determining
state regulatory agency authority. The designated lead agency
for 5-1-1 planning should contact the state regulatory agency, often
called the public utilities commission or public service commission,
to determine if the regulatory agency has jurisdiction over any aspect
of N-1-1 number administration. State agencies usually have jurisdiction
only over wireline - not wireless - telecommunications services. Some
regulatory agencies may require that tariffs (the schedule of rates
for specific services) be filed for 5-1-1 service.
Determining
who pays. Transportation agencies may choose to make 5-1-1 a free
service, but they can also choose to levy a charge per call. This
may be especially appropriate if a private-sector company provides
the service and if there are means available to customize the information
for a particular caller.
Using
government purchasing power. State and local governments are often
the largest single customers of companies providing local telephone
service. These governments may have considerable clout in dealing
with the carriers, and they may have experienced people who are accustomed
to negotiating with the carriers and setting up telecommunications
systems. There may even be existing contracts on which transportation
agencies can piggyback. Competition among carriers, especially wireless
carriers, can also help reduce costs.
Contacting
the carriers. Agencies should plan on approaching local telephone
service providers first because they will be the implementers of the
service on fixed telephones. If these companies are willing to approach
the wireless carriers on behalf of the 5-1-1 applicant, implementation
will be greatly simplified.
Finding
sources of funding. Besides the conversion grant program, traveler
information systems are eligible for many federal-aid funding programs,
including the National Highway System, the Surface Transportation
Program, and the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) Program.
In California, money from the Service Authority for Freeways and Expressways,
the California Transportation Development Act, CMAQ, and State Transit
Assistance are all used to finance the traveler information system
used in the San Francisco Bay area. The travel information does not
have to be collected and distributed by a transportation agency; several
existing traveler information systems are based on real-time travel
information collected and distributed by a private-sector company.
Federal and state funds can be used for this purpose.
An
Optimistic Schedule
There's clearly a long way to go before the nation is blanketed by
5-1-1 service. But thanks in part to the early adopters, the three-digit
traffic number will be making an early debut in several parts of the
country.
"We'd
like to see on the order of a half-dozen or so 5-1-1 systems in place
around the country by the end of the calendar year," Rupert said.
"Then there would be a gradual [increase], with two-thirds of
the states having a system in place over the next three years. At
the end of five years, which is when the FCC reviews the progress
being made, I think we'll have the nation fairly well covered with
some level of service."
Jim Wright,
a program director for the Minnesota Department of Transportation,
is on temporary assignment to AASHTO to manage the 5-1-1 effort for
AASHTO. He is also upbeat about the pace of implementing the traffic
information service even though he reports that planners recently
heard a "sobering" presentation about the difficulties encountered
in implementing 9-1-1 emergency service on a national basis.
"There's
a lot of excitement surrounding 5-1-1," said Wright, who chairs
the 5-1-1 working committee. "I'm optimistic, and I'm prepared
to work on this for the duration."
S.
Lawrence Paulson is a partner in Hoffman Paulson Associates, a
writing/editing and public relations firm in Hyattsville, Md. He has
written and edited numerous publications for the Federal Highway Administration,
Federal Transit Administration, and National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration. He also spent seven years covering Congress as the
Washington bureau chief of a national daily newspaper, The Oil
Daily.
Other
Articles in this Issue:
5-1-1
Traffic Help May Soon Be Three Digits Away
Using
the Dynamic Modulus Test to Assess the Mix Strength of HMA
The
ITS Public Safety Program: Creating a Public Safety Coalition
Handling
the Worst Crash Ever in Virginia
Moving
Ahead - The American Public Speaks on Roadways and Transportation
in Communities
Branding America's Byways
Travelers
Seek Byway Experiences
National
Work-Zone Awareness Week Commemorated Across the Nation
Work-Zone
Traffic Control: Survey of Contracting Techniques