511 NY provides information on:

Emergency alerts about major transportation problems Traffic conditions, camera images, speeds Work zones and construction reports Border-crossing conditions Transit conditions Weather conditions and forecasts Transit trip-planning (door to door) Transit services Intercity bus and rail services

Paratransit services Carpools and vanpools Park-and-ride lot locations Airports and airport access services Ferries, tunnels and bridges Commercial vehicle information Bicycling Toll information Weather condition

511 NY covers the transportation system and services throughout New York State. Major state highways are covered statewide and major county and local highways are included in the New York City area. Public transportation services throughout the state are featured. Major events occurring on local roads will be described in the 511 system if they have been reported to us.

The phone system has nine different menus tailored to the regions shown in the following map,reflecting differences in the availability of services and information needs around the state.

The information in the 511 NY system comes from many transportation and police agencies in New York and surrounding states. Traffic management centers monitor and provide traffic condition information to the 511 NY system. Staffs at these centers receive highway condition information from police and transportation officials, motorist assistance patrol drivers, 911 calls, construction crews, traffic cameras and roadway sensors. Transit information comes from public transportation agencies. Weather conditions, forecast information and alerts are provided by the National Weather Service.

Information on traffic or transit conditions, changes all the time.

• Speed data and camera images are updated continuously. Camera images are updated as quickly as the camera system allows – every 30 seconds in some cases and every 60 seconds or more in other cases.
• Information on incidents is updated by agency staff as conditions are reported from the scene.
• Information on road construction and maintenance is updated as new work is started or completed, or as travel conditions change.
• Winter roadway conditions are updated at least every four hours during winter months and more frequently during storms.
• Other information, such as construction projects or transit schedule changes, is updated as soon as this information becomes available.
• Agency contact information changes infrequently.

511 NY is another information source for travelers that complements radio and TV broadcasts. With 511 NY you can expect to receive more detailed, current and route-specific traffic information than is provided in a short, general traffic news slot, and you can get  the information whenever you need it. Beyond this, the 511 NY system offers a broad range of information on transit service, transit trip planning, carpooling and many other services not covered by the media.

For the metropolitan New York City area, 511 NY also will provide information about northern New Jersey and southwestern Connecticut. Statewide 511 services are provided in New Jersey and Vermont; Quebec has a 511 service throughout its province. 511 NY users will be able to transfer directly to these services from 511 NY. Other statesmay be contacted by phone or Web site using leads from the 511 Deployment Coalition .

Here are the three-digit service numbers adopted by the telephone industry and the Federal Communications Commission:

211	Health & Human Services	Community information and referral services
311	Local Government Services	Non-emergency police and other government services. Available in NYC, Rochester and Buffalo.
411	Directory Assistance	Fee-based telephone number inquiries
511	Travel and Transportation	Free. Available in many states.
711	Telecom Relay Services	Allows people with hearing or speech impairments to communicate via a communications assistant
811	Excavation	“Know what’s below. Call before you dig.”
911	Emergency Services	Report police, fire or medical emergencies

Incidents disrupt the normal flow of traffic or transit services, including accidents, vehicle breakdowns and road debris. In extreme cases, incidents may require a roadway to be closed.

Delays also can occur because of special events, construction advisories, bad weather conditions or high traffic volume.

Ask the 511 NY phone system about conditions on the alternate route you are considering, or view the roadways for closures, incidents, construction and current traffic speeds.

Cameras, signs and sensors are installed along roads with the most traffic – primarily on major routes like interstates and state-maintained highways. Traffic patterns are reviewed periodically to determine where additional equipment should be installed.

These signs are blank when conditions are normal and are used only when there is a problem, such as an accident, disabled vehicle, construction, road closure or another condition.

The alerts are warnings or information about major incidents affecting the transportation system in the state. To get alerts for a specific region, click on My Customized Alerts to the right of the scrolling banner and choose a region from the drop-down list

The scrolling alerts are Closures or Incidents in the events list that have been rated extreme or severe and don’t appear as a separate category. Our TransAlert notification service draws on the same pool of incidents and closures. While the scrolling alerts only show the most significant events, the TransAlert service lets you pick the event severity level, including events that are moderately disruptive.

Select My Customized Alerts to the right of the scrolling banner to limit the alerts reported to just one of the regions displayed in the drop-down list.

Unless you choose one region in My Customized Alerts all alerts in the state that are in effect will be shown.

Yes! Sign up as a TransAlert subscriber to get information about major incidents affecting transportation in regions or routes you specify. You will receive short e-mail cell or cell phone text messages in near real time with information about an incident's location, nature, severity and other important information. Alerts will be updated during the course of an incident, as necessary. 

TransAlerts are issued only for the most serious and unexpected events that have a high degree of impact on travel.  This can include incidents on highway, rail or aviation systems.  For further information, visit our TransAlert FAQs. To subscribe, visit NY-ALERT Subscribe.

This is an early-warning system to help find abducted children. AMBER stands for America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response. This is a cooperative program 
among law enforcement, broadcasters, transportation agencies and others to immediately involve the public, especially motorists, in the search for an abducted child.

If you witness a child abduction, contact your local law enforcement agency or 911 to report it quickly. Note important information, such as the physical characteristics of the child and suspect; the make and model of any vehicles involved (including license plate numbers if possible); and the precise location of the abduction.

Effective November 1, 2009, the use of portable electronic devices by drivers of motor vehicles is prohibited. If you use a portable electronic device (such as a mobile telephone, smart phone, Blackberry or iPhone) to send or receive text messages or e-mails, you may receive a traffic ticket and pay a fine of $150. Please remember to drive responsibly. If you need to use your device to access 511NY en route, pull off to a safe area such as a rest area, fueling station or other stopping point, or have a passenger access the information for you. Remember, it is illegal to park your vehicle on the shoulder of an interstate highway unless there is an emergency.

Please visit the New York State Governor's Traffic Safety Committee page for more information.

The 511 NY Web application itself is not available in mobile device format; however, much key information can be accessed from your mobile device, including:

• Airline flight status
• Maps and traffic reports
• Traffic cameras
• Transit maps, schedules, alerts
• Transit trip planners
• Weather conditions and forecasts

Check out our Mobile Links section in Travel Links to see what’s available.

Open your phone’s Web browser and enter one of URLs listed in Mobile Links. Where you enter a Web address varies from phone to phone, but can typically be found in the menus relating to the wireless Web.

Some travel information services charge a subscription fee, but in most cases, accessing information is available for free from the provider. Otherwise, the cost to access this information is dependent on the Internet/ data plan you have with your mobile service provider -- typically a monthly access fee.

The 511 phone service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

511 NY does not charge for the call. Calling 511 NY from a landline phone will cost the same as making a local call. If you use a cell phone, airtime and roaming charges may apply.

511 NY is available in the New York City metropolitan area and will spread to the rest of the state later in 2008. Telephone service providers will need to establish the ability to route 511 NY calls to the system. Contact your telephone company if you are unable to reach the 511 NY service.

New York’s 511 phone system will either identify your telephone prefix when you use a landline phone or the communications tower that your wireless phone is connected to when you call. Knowing your calling location allows the 511 NY system to provide information specific to that area of the state.

Information in the 511 NY phone system and Web site is presented in English.

No, New York’s 511 service will keep you on the line until your call is successfully transferred to a partner agency when you select this option.

This depends on whether your provider offers an address translation service (primarily used to identify your location for 911 or E911). If so, when you call 511 NY your call will be routed to the 511 NY system if your registered address is in New York State. The following VoIP carriers provide this address translation service: AT&T Wireless, AT&T Wireline, Frontier Communications, OneCommunications, Sprint (Including Nextel), T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless, Verizon Wireline.

Use of a hand-held mobile telephone while driving is prohibited by New York State Law. If you use a hand-held mobile telephone while you drive, except to call 911 or to contact medical, fire or police personnel about an emergency, you may receive a traffic ticket and pay a maximum fine of $100 and mandatory surcharges of $50.

Use of a hands-free microphone is all right but put safety first. Call 511 NY before you leave. If you do need to call 511 NY en route, call from a rest area, fueling station or other stopping point, or have a passenger make the call for you. Remember, it is illegal to park your vehicle on the shoulder of an interstate highway unless there is an emergency.

Please visit the New York State Governor's Traffic Safety Committee page for more information.

Yes. Call 888-GO511NY (888-465-1169).

With 511 NY, your call will always be answered. If there’s an unusually high volume of calls when you called, your call will be put in a queue to interact with the system. We are monitoring call volumes and will add capacity if needed.

There are several reasons why you might not be able to access the 511 NY system:

1. Your telephone company doesn’t provide access to 511 NY.   Most landline and cellular service carriers in New York State allow access to the 511 system. If your carrier isn’t listed, ask it to support 511 NY. If your carrier doesn’t support 511 NY, you can reach 511 NY via our toll-free number: 888-GO511NY (888-465-1169).
2. Cell phone reception is poor.
   Try calling back from another location.
3. Your phone system at work doesn’t support dialing 511 NY.
   Many businesses have their own telephone systems that may need to be reprogrammed to allow direct access to the 511 NY system. Contact your office manager or telephone system administrator to have them enable access to 511 NY.
4. Your cell phone is using a cell tower in a neighboring state.
   When you call from an area near a bordering state, your cell phone may use a cell tower in that state, not in New York, preventing you from accessing 511 NY. This has occurred in some places on the north shore of Long Island (calls may use cell towers in Connecticut). If this happens,  dial our toll-free number, 888-GO511NY (888-465-1169).
5. You’re calling from another state. Dialing 511 will connect you with the 511 system in the state from which you are calling, if available. Call 511 NY’s toll-free number 888-GO511NY (888-465-1169).
6. You’re calling from a pay phone that hasn’t been programmed for 511.
   Call 511 NY’s toll-free number 888-GO511NY (888-465-1169).

New York’s 511 service can be reached through these toll-free numbers:

511 NY will transfer your call to travel information services in New Jersey, Quebec or Vermont depending on the 511 NY calling region menu you are using (the 511 NY region must be adjacent to the state or province). If transfers are enabled, say “Other 511 Systems” at the Main Menu.

511 NY uses a state-of-the-art voice-recognition system to guide you through the menu options. The system might have a difficulty responding to your request if:  

• you said something it is not programmed to recognize at that particular menu;
• it cannot understand your voice; or
• there is background noise, such as a radio or people talking near you, that prevents the system from understanding you.

Reduce background noise and speak as clearly as possible in a normal tone of voice. If you're using a cell phone and you have a low signal, try calling back when you get a better one. If you still have problems, use numeric touch-tone commands.

Hearing-impaired callers can dial 711 or visit http://www.i711.com/ for assistance on-line to access 511 NY information. 711 is the national three-digit number for access to Telecommunication Relay Services (TRS). Callers dial 711 and ask the operator to connect them to the 511 service. Once connected, the 711 operator acts as a go-between, relaying callers' request for travel information to the 511 system and then providing system responses back to the callers.

Speech-impaired callers can use the touch-tone system to access information from the 511 system. Press "0" at each new menu to hear the touch-tone options, then press the number that matches your choice. Once you learn the touch-tones, there is no need to press zero to hear the list of choices; just enter your selection.

The 511 NY Web site has been designed to meet the accessibility policies of the NYS Office for Technology. Most of the material on the Web site will be in HTML or ASCII (plain text) formats. However, some of the files may require users to have installed the following specific software or plug-ins to interpret the page content: Adobe Acrobat® Portable Document Format (PDF), Adobe Flash® and Microsoft Office®.

The 511 NY phone service is an automated, interactive voice system driven by a user’s voice or phone keys. Voice recordings will give the latest computerized information. There are options to transfer to a specific transportation agency for additional information not offered directly through the 511 NY phone system.

Say, "Help" or "What are my choices?" at any time to hear your options for the current menu. To return to a previous menu, say, "Go back." To start over, say "Main Menu."

Interrupt the System (barge-in).
Once you know what questions will be asked, you can answer them as soon as the system starts asking them. You don’t need to wait until the end of a question before answering.

Use Voice Command Shortcuts or Touch Tone Keys
Shortcuts are voice commands that bypass a menu and take you directly to your choice.

Say	Press	Action
Help, What are my choices?	0	Lists of all choices for the current menu.
Main Menu	*	States Main Menu options.
Repeat	NA	Repeats the last question or list of choices.
Stop Cancel Go Back	NA	Halts the system from listing menu options and goes back to the previous menu.
Goodbye	NA	Ends the call.

 

Main Menu Choices
Just press "0" at each menu to hear menu choices and touch tone codes. The  nine 511NY calling regions have some differences in their phone system menus.

Say	Press	What it Does
Traffic	1	Get information about closures and major incidents on the facilities you select.
Public Transportation	2	Link to a public transportation service or learn about current transit incidents.
Paratransit	3	Connect to a service provider.
Ride share	4	Connect to a ride-sharing service.
Airports	5	Connect to an airport or airport access service.
Other 511 Systems	Depends	Choose another neighboring 511 system.
Switch Regions	Depends	Transfer to another 511 NY calling region
MTA Shortcuts (Downstate Regions)	9	Link to one of the MTA’s 13 customer support services.
Option not available	77	Give us your feedback.

If you receive a call that seems to be from New York State’s travel information service because the telephone number begins with "511" on your caller ID, be assured that it is not from 511NY. 511 is not a valid area code in the US or Canada, and 511NY does not make out-going calls to the public.

If you are receiving calls like this, you should contact your telephone service provider and request they block "calls from 511" to you. Be prepared to give your provider the complete telephone number you want blocked.

If you have tried to work through your telephone service provider to eliminate such calls and were unsuccessful, please call 511 and use the touchtone keys to press 77 to leave a comment (and remember to hit # when you are finished), or visit the 511NY.org website, click "contact us" to reach us. Please provide your contact information and a message about the problem you are having, and a staff member will reach out to you to help resolve the problem.

NYSDOT staff members will return calls only in response to comments left via the 511NY telephone or web service, and a ten digit phone number beginning with a valid area code will appear on your caller ID.

Type of Information	Phone	Web
Transit conditions		X
Transit trip planner		X
Public transportation providers	X	X
Riding a bus or train with your bike		X

Here are the public transportation services covered by 511 NY:

• Airport Access Services
• Amtrak
• Commuter Rail Services
• Connecting Services
• Ferries
• Intercity Bus Services
• Local Bus Services
• Paratransit Services
• Subway/ PATH

With 511 NY you can find out about services within your area of interest. The phone system will transfer your call to an operator if you’d like.

Our transit trip planner is groundbreaking in its ability to plan a trip involving several different types of transportation services and multiple operators. The trip planner also allows you to specify:

• Date (use the pop-up calendar)
• Arrival or departure time
• Fewest transfers
• Fastest itinerary
• Preferred service provider (pick from the list)
• Special needs (wheelchair or bicycle)
• Park-and-ride lot locations

Absolutely. Just click on the map to indicate the approximate origin and destination of your trip. Zoom in, as needed, to see more street detail.

After you’ve specified where your trip is starting and ending, click on Plan Your Trip. The results will pop up in a new window, showing

• Starting point
• Ending point
• Details on where to board the service
• Date and start time and trip duration
• Detailed instructions and duration of each leg of your trip (if applicable)
• Information on any current incidents affecting service

Click on Print Itinerary at the bottom to get a printer-friendly version of the instructions.

Yes. When viewing your itinerary click on the walking map icon on the right side of the screen. Another window will open a map window showing the starting point of your trip and where you will pick up the service as well as proving you with detailed directions. Print the map and directions to carry with you.

If you’ve toggled the Consider Park-N-Rides in Itinerary option at the bottom of the origin block, after you click on Plan Your Trip a list of the nearest park and ride lots will be displayed. If you click on a button to the left of a lot name, you’ll see the lot name, location and web site link on the map, and a table below with detailed information on the lot. Lot web pages offer even more information. Click on Driving Directions to see how to get to the lot from your starting point.

After you’ve considered your options, select a lot for your itinerary by clicking on the Use as Origin box. Your detailed itinerary will display next.

511 NY provides you with access to more than 50 public transportation operators around the state. To select an operator from the phone system, say “Public Transportation” at the Main Menu, then narrow your choices from there. On the Web, select “Travel Links” from the home page, then “Public Transportation.” An interactive map then will let you choose a specific area and type of service for a customized list of operators.

More than 110 paratransit agencies are included. To select an operator from the phone system, say “Paratransit” at the Main Menu, then narrow your choices from there. On the 511NY Web site, select “Travel Links” from the home page, then “Public Transportation” and “Paratransit.” An interactive map then will let you choose a specific area (region or county) for a tailored list of operating agencies.

Phone System
From the Public Transportation menu (accessed by saying, "Public Transportation" from the Main Menu or the Public Transportation menu) and say “Paratransit.” The system will respond with a list of service providers. If you’d like, your call can be transferred to one of these operators for more information. 

Web Site
Select Travel Links > Public Transportation > Paratransit. You’ll be linked to our interactive application that will allow you to get a list of service providers and their contact information for the area you select.

After you tell the 511 NY phone system which agency you want, it will confirm your request by repeating the agency’s name. If you select an agency and the system reads back a different name, right away say "Stop," "Go Back" or Press 1 to stop the transfer and choose again. If you didn’t catch this in time, call back and try again.

If you need information to plan a trip, then visit our groundbreaking, multiagency transit Trip Planner Web site. The trip planner will help you map out your itinerary, door to door. Otherwise, call back during normal workday hours.

As with all emergencies, if you see an accident or a road hazard, such as a downed tree, flooding or debris in the road, dial 911. Report the location and direction (note the nearest highway mile marker, if you can).

The easiest way is to simply use it. The more you use the system, the more we learn about what’s important to you. If you have a specific suggestion about how we can improve, tell us using our feedback form or leave a message using the 511 NY phone system. Press "77" at any time and you’ll be prompted to leave a recorded message.  We also will conduct periodic phone and Web surveys to get feedback.

Yes. Any computer that has access to the Internet, a compatible browser and security settings to allow cookies will be able to use the 511 NY Web site.

Travel and transportation information is accessible using Web-enabled phones and PDAs (personal digital assistants). Other hand-held, mobile and in-vehicle electronic devices eventually will be supported. For further information, refer to the section on  accessing 511 NY via mobile devices.

511 NY has been tested with Internet Explorer 6.0 and above, and Firefox 2.0 and above. Other browsers also may work.

Cookies are a small amount of data sent to your Web browser from a web server and stored on your computer. They are only used to save your latest map view which can save you navigation time when you visit 511NY.org the next time. The cookies used by our 511 NY system do not contain any personal information about you and the information in them cannot be accessed by other Web sites.

Yes. The first time you visit, these pages will load slowly, so be patient. Once the maps  have loaded on your computer, your next visit should be quicker. Other things you can do to improve performance are:

• Select only one or a limited number of information categories. The more you pick, the longer it will take to display all icons on the map.
• Stick with the Google Map view (instead of Satellite or Hybrid).
• Don’t view camera images (these take the longest time to load).

Information Category	Icon	Traffic Conditions	Transit Conditions	Information Shown
Closures		Y	Y	Closure locations are shown with icons to indicate a major event is occurring on a highway or transit route that is causing the road to be closed or service disrupted.
Weather Alerts		Y	Y	This option will display both weather and alert icons for 13 different forecast zones around New York State. Click on the weather icon to get the National Weather Service forecast for the next seven days. Click on the alert icon to see the latest weather alert issued by the NWS (if an alert is in effect) and time the alert was issued or updated.
Incidents		Y		An incident describes something that disrupts traffic flow, traffic, such as an accident, vehicle breakdown or road debris. Move your mouse over the icon to display the location of an incident. Click on the icon for detailed information including the time of the last update.
Transit Events			Y	Transit Events are the transit world’s equivalent to traffic Incidents. Information is shown the same way (see above).
Special Events		Y	Y	Special Events are planned activities such as concerts, bicycle races, festivals, fairs, etc. that impact traffic. Advisory messages present the name of the event, date, time, location and traffic impacts.
Bridges and Tunnels		Y		Mouse-over an icon to see the name of the bridge or tunnel. Click on an icon to show the current river crossing times by direction of travel.
Construction		Y	Y	Icons show active construction projects. Mouse-over an icon for information on project location. Click on it to learn more about traffic impacts, timing and duration.
Cameras		Y		View pictures of current traffic conditions from the location chosen. Mouse-over a camera icon for a description of the camera’s location. Click on it to display the camera image, location, operating agency logo and camera direction.
Speeds		Y		Select Speeds to see the average speed of traffic at roadside traffic detectors locations. Colored dots show detector locations and speed range of traffic. Mouse-over a dot to get information on location, traffic level, average traffic speed and time of the last update.

The map starts out with a view of the whole state. Use the Zoom To feature to jump to a metro area chosen from the drop down list (Zoom To is located immediately above the map). Otherwise, use Google’s map navigation buttons:

To Change Location:
 
Arrows - Click the appropriate arrow buttons to move the view north, south, east or west. Click   to return to your original view.
Mouse - Depress the left mouse button and drag the map to pan to a new area.

To Change Zoom Level:
 
Zoom In - Click  to zoom in on the center of the map.
Zoom Out - Click  to zoom out.
Zoom Slider - Drag the zoom slider up or down to zoom in or out incrementally.

Select this option to have 511 NY remember your current “map view” (geographic area and zoom level) for your next visit. This will save you map navigation time if you typically look at the same area when you visit 511 NY. “Save My Map View” remembers your map view by storing a “cookie” on your computer for the 511 NY Web site -- a small amount of data retrieved by our Web server to show your personalized map view.

After an accident has been entered into the system, it is immediately available to the public.

All major accidents and other events reported to us that occur on the state highway system will be included in the 511 NY system; however, there may be some delay getting accurate information from transportation employees or other first responders at the incident scene. Accidents that may not cause major disruption may not be included, particularly if they occur on local roads.

To see the latest information on the 511 NY Web site, make sure your Web browser is set to refresh pages automatically so it checks for newer versions of stored Web pages. Otherwise, the version of a page stored on your hard drive from your last visit will be loaded. Also, during a session select Refresh or Reload from your browser’s menu or press the appropriate toolbar icon.

To improve performance, select only the information categories you really want. The more legend items you select, the longer it will take to display icons on the map.

You also can speed up the rate of information delivery by sticking with the Google Map view (instead of Satellite or Hybrid). This is particularly true if you are going to pan the map (move location).

Road condition information is available from the 511 NY Web site. Select Traffic Conditions from the main menu, then Winter Travel Advisory from the drop down list of choices.

Our Winter Travel Advisory system describes driving conditions on many of New York State's most-traveled roads. Conditions are displayed on a zoomable, color-coded map based on snowplow drivers’ reports. Conditions are updated at least every four hours during winter months and more frequently during storms.

See the Status Definitions page for terms used and their explanations. For tips on how to use the Winter Travel Advisory system map, visit the WTA’s main page and click on the Help button (top left corner of the map window). At the next window that pops up, click on Map Tools and choose from the list of topics.