Traveler Information In Virginia

Transcription

1 Traveler Information In Virginia August 15, 2008 Scott Cowherd Statewide Travel Information Program Manager Operations and Security Division Table of Contents 511 History 511 Summary 511 Virginia Phone System 511 Virginia Web Site 511 Virginia Changes Additional Travel Information Programs Marketing 2

2 511 Virginia Have you seen this sign? 3 History of 511Virginia July 2000-Virginia launched its I-81 regional travel information service under the name Travel Shenandoah, from the West VA border to Lexington, VA 4th State to launch 130 miles of I-81 corridor # to call February 2002-Travel Shenandoah became 511 Virginia New three-digit phone number New web address Expanded service to the entire length of the I-81 corridor, 325 miles. February Virginia launched statewide August Virginia Expanded the service 4

3 Why 511 Virginia? We want you to know what we know so you can make better travel decisions! 5 Using 511 Virginia In-state, dial 511 Out-of-state, dial MY511VA ( ) Callers can also transfer to all sister states 511 telephone services 6

4 Information Sources VDOT sources Virginia State Police Local authorities Travelers like you Reporting directly to VDOT 7 Calling 511 Virginia Voice activated menu options: Highways/Traffic Bridges and Tunnels Public transportation / Multi-modal Weather information Other states 8

5 The 511 Virginia Phone (IVR) System August Changes 9 The 511 Virginia Phone (IVR) System 511 Virginia Additions Traffic option moved to the front New Main Menu item for Public Transportation and Commuting Options Interruptible option 15 Commuter Service Programs (Ridesharing, Commuter Connections and Carpools) 16 Metro Areas 20 Bridges and Tunnels 41 Rest Areas and Welcome Centers 10

6 The 511 Virginia Phone (IVR) System 511 Virginia Additions, Continued 330 Roads 50+ Public Transportation Providers 95 Counties 616 Cities and Towns alerts for your personalized travel Sub-tier IVR for special events Numerous Other Changes 11 The 511 Virginia Phone (IVR) System More user-friendly system based on user comments. Totally rebuilt phone system that: Totally redesigned menu Adding direct request to I-81 as an example Adding direct access to Bridge and Tunnel information Allow ownership of code to VDOT Increased the roads covered Allow porting of system through one hosting facility Increase multi-modal content (transit, ferry info) Able to offer a sub-tier menu for special events (i.e. Big Walker) 12

7 511 Virginia Web Site Virginia Web Site 14

8 511 Virginia Web Site Web cams Information about more than 26,000 points of interest. Driving directions with an interactive map displaying delays along travel routes Information about statewide events and much more Virginia Changes Coming in 2008 New-look web site with: Personalized features Sub-tiered web sites for Metro areas Increase multi-modal content (transit, ferry info) New layout and maps (add screen shots) Alerts (add screen shot) My Control Room (add screen shot) 16

9 Summary before the August Launch Phone System Received 3.53 million calls from February 2002 thru May 2007 A 31% increase in calls from May 2006 to May 2007 Average call duration is 2 minutes Usage trends continued: Seasonal travel (mostly summer) Weather-related (mostly snow, flooding, T.S. Ernesto) Holiday weekends 17 Phone System August Monthly Report 18

10 Overview August 2007 was the first month of the second generation statewide 511 Virginia IVR. The new system logged a record number of calls for a month more than 200,000 The system surpassed one million calls for calendar year 2007 and four million calls since its launch in February 2002 We are now receiving more than 2 million calls a year! 19 Overview, Continued Most of the Cities requested were in the Hampton Roads area Most of the Counties requested are along I-81 Specific cities in Hampton Roads and specific bridges / tunnels The ability to select a bridge / tunnel via an abbreviated touch tone code (1 *) is very popular 20

11 Requests per menu level Main Menu/Traffic 179,850 Requests Bridges and Tunnels 12,284 Requests Weather 3,373 Requests Other Choices Rest Areas 725 Requests Other States 527 Requests Planned Construction 369 Requests Public Transportation 915 Requests 21 Additional Traveler Information Projects and Marketing 22

12 Welcome Centers and Malls New Monitor Information 23 Welcome Centers NEW LOOK! Fredericksburg Center 24

13 Welcome Centers NEW LOOK! WB New Kent Center 25 Marketing Plan 2008 Radio Transit Billboards Gas Pump Toppers Media (TV stations) 26

14 Marketing Plan 2008 Mapquest Banner Ads for anyone requesting information for VA Yahoo.com for anyone requesting information for VA Magazine Advertisements Rack Card Brochures 27 Signs Static Message Signs 219 Signs Adding signs at all Welcome Centers, Interstates and Major Airports 28

15 511 Poster 29 AAA and VTC Advertising 30

16 Traveler Information VaTraffic Upgrade Enhanced operational capabilities for managing planned and unplanned events affecting transportation Improved incident reporting and analysis capabilities Statewide data/incident management integration with the regional Traffic Management Centers (TMC) and the Transportation Emergency Operations Center (TEOC) Accurate and more efficient real time data feeds to the 511 Virginia Service A VDOT global database for archiving verified information to support system performance monitoring 31 Traveler Information PSAP Integration 127 Public Safety Announcement Point (PSAP) E911 centers in VA Benefits of PSAP Integration real-time information on all primary and secondary roadways provides a central access point for consolidated data VDOT traffic camera imagery to all first-responder centers thru Statewide Video Distribution System Cost to integrate a center is $100,000-$125,000. Regional Activity- Five TMC s Eastern Region-15 PSAP Centers, 9 Primary By June 2008, OSD provided $500,000 to finish the Regional Transportation Incident Management Information System (RTIMIS) and integrate Norfolk, Newport News and Suffolk centers. The Eastern region is also investing another $400,000-$500,000 to integrate four or five more centers by the end of Southwestern region has identified Roanoke County, Lynchburg, Washington County and Campbell County as primary centers for 2008 integration. Meetings are being scheduled. Northwestern region has completed integration with one of the primary centers. Meetings are being scheduled with other centers. Northern region is completing the integration with one of their primary centers and will be moving their TMC into a joint operations facility this year. Four more county centers have been identified as primary for

17 Traveler Information Travel Times Vehicle Probe Data VDOT was a partner in writing the RFP, the evaluation process and selecting the contractor through the bid review/selection process for this program. We were part of the evaluation team in March 07, and announced award in December 07. Current coverage in Virginia under the core contract has 692 of Highway and 191 miles of arterial coverage: I-95/395/495/66/295/64/895/195 US-1/301/207/234/17/29/10/123 The data will be available July 1, 2008 through two modes: A direct feed for state s to populate information directly into their existing service A monitor site to view data on the entire corridor and all other states (restricted to use by DOT only) This information received through the feed can be overlaid for use on existing maps. States are able to expand their roadway coverage through a task order for $150 to develop and deploy per mile (one time fee) and $750 per mile/per year 33 Traveler Information Travel Times Travel Time Task Force Committee Held the first meeting in December Reviewed the objective of the committee Centralized Coordination Knowledge sharing Develop a statewide policy, standard and vision For this committee to work as a resource for the state Special presentation by Inrix on the Vehicle Probe Project Everyone agreed that this is great committee and to continue the effort Held the second meeting March 11th Brian Smith (UVA) facilitated our meeting 15 people attended from 10:30a.m.-4:00p.m. Great feedback from all folks on what they are doing in their regions 34

18 Traveler Information Travel Times UVA Task-Brian Smith The intent of this task is to develop a statewide strategic plan identifying: Data Requirements Data Standards Baseline data Refresh Rates Accuracy Rate When to disseminate (i.e. 24 hours or peck hours, reoccurring vs. nonreoccurring congestions) Validation process Sources of data 35 Traveler Information Travel Times PBS&J Regionalization Strategic Plan Development Hired to develop a short term and long term strategic plan for statewide Travel Information Program Identifying best practices from a national perspective Identifying how to disseminate the travel time data through the 511 website/ivr 36

19 Traveler Information Travel Times Baseline Recommendations: Provide Travel Speed information on the 511 service (as soon as possible) Work with the TMC s to integrate the Inrix feed into their IM systems at the same time VaTraffic. Therefore, the TMC s can disseminate this information over their CMS and HAR systems (phase II of VaTraffic in Oct/Nov,08) Expand the coverage onto other arterial roadways (anytime) Timeline: Receive the PBS&J Strategic Plan June, 08 Receive the UVA Strategic Plan June, 08 VDOT develops the statewide vision (obtaining management approval) Evaluate other regional efforts Hampton Roads/ NOVA Traffic.com contract (under contract now) Larry Caldwell s sensor expansion (deploying now) 37 Traveler Information Floodgate Message Users Guide Developing a consistent policy for satisfying all statewide needs Identifying the many uses for a floodgate manual Identifying the level of dissemination: Statewide Metro areas Counties Cities and towns Specific roadways HAR Matrix Developing and assessment of each regions HAR system Evaluating the usefulness vs. new technology advancements DMS /CMS Policy Updating the current policy to meet the growing needs New partnership agreements to support campaigns 38

20 Traveler Information Regionalization Traveler Information & 511 Strategic Plan Short Term and Long Term Goals Identifying how to stay on top of changes in technology Identify Specific Regional Needs Identifying Specific Statewide Needs Identifying How To Implement Travel Times /Speeds in 511 SOPP (Statewide Systems Operations Program Plan) Identifying the current operations throughout VDOT Identifying changes to meet the short and long term goals for the agency 39 Scott Cowherd Statewide Travel Information Program Manager 511 Virginia Project Manager Operations and Security Division (804)