The Washington State Department of Transportation announced that it will stop operating the automated traffic information system for phone number 511 starting May 19.<\/p>\n
The Ministry of Transportation explained that the number of 511 users has decreased significantly as travelers can easily share traffic information through social media such as Google Maps and smartphone apps.<\/p>\n
According to the Ministry of Transportation, the number of times travelers use the 511 number has decreased by 89% in 13 years, from 2.2 million in 2009 to 302,000 last year. On the other hand, the operating cost of a 511-phone system exceeds $150,000 per year, including labor costs.<\/p>\n
Currently, the 511-phone system informs travelers of road congestion, crash locations, weather forecasts, mountain road traffic, ferry boarding information, highway express lane status, and more in real time. However, most of this information can also be obtained through SNS, GPS systems built into cars, and online services of the Ministry of Transportation.<\/p>\n
The Ministry of Transport said that people without access to the Internet or smartphones can still obtain necessary traffic information over the phone, and provided phone numbers for each item as follows.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"