History and implementation Beginning as a research project at the University of North Dakota in the Summer 1995, an Advanced Traveler Information System, known by its phone number #SAFE (#7233). This initial system provided the proof of concept for a statewide application across both North and South Dakota, and later Minnesota. This system proved that all interstates, and state highways, could be covered and information about these roadways could be provided to travelers on demand 24/7. After more than 5 years of around the clock operations, the principles that established the operational and business rules of the #SAFE program were adopted by the FHWA as the initial guidelines of what was to later become 5-1-1. In March 1998, a 3-digit dialing code was launched in the
Cincinnati–Northern Kentucky metropolitan area for the
ARTIMIS project. The SmarTraveler service, operated by SmartRoute Systems for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet since 1995, had been using a 7-digit code (333-3333) which was available to landline phones in both Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky area codes, but cellular callers had to dial a separate code (*1) to access the same touch-tone traffic system. SmartRoute Systems and KYTC negotiated with the two active cellular carriers and
Cincinnati Bell and reached an agreement on allowing a 3-digit code "2-1-1" (a number agreed by the carriers), making this the "first in the nation". This implementation was seen as proof that wireless carriers could implement short-codes without a * or # prefix requirement, and led to a series of discussions with the USDOT and the FCC pushing the carriers to release the number (which they viewed as precious internal resources). On October 2, 1996, Eli Sherer of SmartRoute Systems, along with representatives from ITS America, the USDOT Joint Program Office, and others met with the FCC regarding the possibility of reserving an N11 number nationwide for Advanced Traveler Information Systems. This meeting led to further discussions at ITS America and USDOT, and the information provided was used and molded into the USDOT petition to the FCC for a 3-digit code for ATIS. The USDOT petition (as noted below) did NOT request a specific N11 number; When the FCC ruling was made on July 21, 2001, the 511 code was "ASSIGNED as a national abbreviated dialing code to be used exclusively for access to travel information services," and at the same time, the 211 code was "ASSIGNED as a national abbreviated dialing code to be used to access community information and referral services." Therefore, the 211 code that had been in use in Cincinnati since 1998 was changed to 511. As of March 2001, at least 300 telephone numbers existed for travel information systems in the United States. To overcome the confusion caused by this array of numbers, the
United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) petitioned the
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for a national assignment of a single three-digit
N11 dialing code. On July 21, 2000, the FCC assigned 511 as a nationwide telephone number for
intelligent transportation system (ITS) traveler information, along with
2-1-1 for social services. Its use is being promoted by the USDOT's ITS initiative. "On March 8, 1999, the U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) petitioned the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to designate a nationwide three-digit telephone number for traveler information. On July 21, 2000, the FCC designated 511 as the United States' national travel information telephone number." The first 511 traveler information system to launch was the Cincinnati area's ARTIMIS hotline in June 2001. The first statewide 511 traveler information system was launched across the state of Nebraska in October 2001. Eight states, from Alaska to Maine, pooled resources and expertise to develop the 511 voice-activated phone service for travelers. Led by the Iowa DOT, the multi-state consortium received $700,000 from the Federal Highway Administration to help pay for system design and software development. Each state also provided a 20 percent matching fund, boosting total funds to nearly $900,000. In addition to Iowa, the participating states in the consortium (as of 2011) are Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Sacramento Area Council of Governments, and Vermont. Individual states have the lead role in coordinating 511 deployments. National leadership is provided by the 511 Deployment Coalition. Led by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), and including travel information experts from more than 30 organizations, the Coalition has developed voluntary guidelines for state transportation agencies to follow when planning 511 service for their states or regions. Other leading member organizations of the Coalition include the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), the Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITS America), and the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Active systems Active 511 systems (in order of deployment date) as of June 30, 2025: •
Ohio •
Nebraska •
Utah •
Hawaii •
Virginia •
Arizona •
Orlando, Florida •
Minnesota •
Washington state •
Iowa •
South Dakota •
Kentucky statewide •
Los Angeles and
Southern California •
San Francisco Bay Area •
Montana •
Vermont •
North Dakota •
Alaska •
Maine •
New Hampshire •
Oregon •
Kansas •
North Carolina •
Sacramento, California, and
Northern California •
Colorado •
Rhode Island •
Florida •
Idaho •
Wyoming •
Tennessee •
Nevada •
Louisiana •
San Diego •
Southwestern Florida •
St. Louis, Missouri •
California Eastern Sierra •
Georgia •
Eastern Massachusetts •
New Jersey •
New Mexico •
Nova Scotia •
New York •
Wisconsin •
Inland Empire (California) •
Pennsylvania •
Maryland •
West Virginia California San Francisco antennae that poll vehicle transponders to collect data used to generate 511.org traffic information, San Francisco Preceded, in 1996, by
TravInfo and 817-1717, travelers in the
San Francisco Bay Area can use the 5-1-1 phone service, access transit and traffic information on a Web site,
511.org, which provides information on
mass transit schedules and an interactive trip planner, which will provide an optimal routing between a given origin, destination, and optional time constraints. In addition, 511.org provides information on
bicycling,
ridesharing, and the
toll road system
FasTrak. 511.org is a service of the
Metropolitan Transportation Commission, and was designed by the transportation engineering company
PB Farradyne, a division of
Parsons Brinckerhoff Quade & Douglas, The system had a fair amount of controversy when it was announced that it would use
FasTrak electronic toll tags to track vehicles as they traversed Bay Area freeways. 511 has since stopped using FasTrak toll tag data to provide driving times. Driving times are now derived from GPS probe vehicle-based traffic speed data that 511 purchases from INRIX, Inc. In 2006,
the Bay Area's transit coordinator signed an $11 million four-year contract with defense contractor
Science Applications International Corporation to operate the local 511 system.
San Diego Users of the San Diego area have access to road, transit, and other information via the phone and Web. They can access transit information on a Web site, which provides information on
mass transit schedules and an interactive trip planner, which will provide an optimal routing between a given origin, destination, and optional time constraints. In addition, 511sd.com provides information on
bicycling,
ridesharing, and the
toll road system
Fastrak. 511sd.com is a service of the
San Diego Association of Governments, and was designed by the company ICx Technologies and PB Farradyne (now
Telvent Farradyne).
Georgia This statewide
Georgia Navigator system provides traffic,
MARTA/
GRTA and other public transport,
rideshare,
Clean Air Campaign,
Atlanta and
Savannah airport,
Amtrak,
Greyhound, weather and tourism information in an
interactive voice response (IVR) format. Callers are also given the option of connecting to live operators at the
Georgia Department of Transportation's Transportation Management Center in
Atlanta. Connecting to operators allows users to report traffic accidents to the
Georgia State Patrol or local police or
sheriffs, or request
motorist assistance from the
Highway Emergency Response Operators (HERO) program. Callers can also connect to adjacent states' 5-1-1 systems, including North Carolina's. In January 2011, the Georgia Department of Transportation launched a mobile application on the iPhone platform to provide iPhone users with a mobile option for up to the minute traffic information found on the website. The application also provides special offers and other information about businesses and organizations who participate in the program. Georgia actually had a system for years before this, using only live operators, and the
code *DOT (*368), which could not necessarily be used by those mobile phone users who were roaming from elsewhere, as these codes are specific to each phone company. A local
404 number in
metro Atlanta and a toll-free
800 number were used for these and landline calls, and still serve as backup for mobile providers that fail to connect.
Kentucky In Kentucky, 511 services cover traffic and weather conditions, and can also be heard on the radio on the AM dial (the Travelers' Information Station) and at 511.ky.gov.
New England The New England 511 service covers Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, providing access to real-time traffic and weather conditions, live cameras, upcoming events and other relevant information. The service was launched in 2022, as a partnership between the
Maine Department of Transportation,
New Hampshire Department of Transportation and
Vermont Agency of Transportation, with all three organizations continuing to supply updating real-time information. Travelers can also view road conditions and traffic cameras at
511PA.com.
Tennessee Implemented in August 2006, Tennessee travelers have the option of accessing road and travel conditions at
TN511.com or through the 511 phone service.
Virginia The FCC designated 511 as the national traveler information number. Virginia's 511 system began in the Shenandoah Valley in 2000 and went statewide in early 2005. Currently both the 511virginia.org website and calling 511 from any land line or mobile phone provides statewide travelling information. Alternatively, there is now a 511 VDOT app for iOS and Android devices.
West Virginia The
West Virginia Department of Transportation's (WVDOT) free 511 Traveler Information System provides real-time traffic information, including congestion, construction, lane closures, road conditions and severe weather information on all West Virginia interstates and other major highways. The resource is available 24 hours a day via phone by dialing 511 or online at
WV511.org. WV 511 advisories also are available from the WV 511 Drive Safe mobile app and via statewide, regional and roadway-specific Twitter feeds. The public safety alerts (such as
Amber alerts and
Silver Alerts) carried on 511 are voluntary, cooperative partnerships among law enforcement, WVDOT, other agencies and local broadcasters. WVDOT uses overhead electronic message signs and 511 to get public safety alerts out to the public. 511 was implemented in West Virginia in 2012.
Wyoming In the summer of 2007, the original vendor was removed and services were redesigned and improved using
Meridian Environmental Technology. The effort to redesign and improve service undertaken
summer of 2007 to revamp WYDOT's 511 Travel Information telephone service is paying benefits this winter, based on recent customer feedback. Some of the additional features are: • Ability to choose neighboring states that provide 511 information • Voice recognition, with the option to revert to touchtone keypad input • Ability to choose route-specific information or regional summaries • Agency capability to include Alerts (Amber, Homeland, customized)
Similar services in the United States The
Minnesota Department of Transportation operates a website for traffic and road condition information.
Discontinuing services Washington The
Washington State Department of Transportation launched the state's 511 service in July 2003. On April 24, 2023, the WSDOT announced that it would deactivate the 511 telephone number within the state on May 19 of that year, citing declining usage (attributed to the use of smartphones and GPS navigation), old technology, and cost. ==In Canada==