511 Case Study Overview
- Minnesota
511 Case Study Overview - The State of Minnesota
Of the many transportation and tourism related phone information systems
currently operating in Minnesota, two have been identified as most relevant
in terms of near-term plans for 511 conversion:
- Winter and Summer Road and Weather Conditions: The Minnesota Department
of Transportation (Mn/DOT) through the Office of Maintenance has implemented
a statewide toll-free and a local Twin Cities number to access road
conditions. These numbers are 1-800-542-0220 and 651-284-0511. The
telephony equipment was recently upgraded from 19 incoming lines to
47 to reduce the number of missed calls. In March 2001 the system
was upgraded from human operator voice-recorded information to a system
that coverts text to speech through concatenation of prerecorded words
and phrases.
- Minnesota Condition Acquisition and Reporting System (Mn/CARS):
Through a pooled-fund project with Iowa, Washington and Missouri,
Minnesota has developed and implemented Mn/CARS. Mn/CARS is an Internet-based
application used by Mn/DOT Districts and the Minnesota State Patrol
to enter data about road conditions, restrictions and incidents. Mn/CARS
data is integrated into a database that is then accessible to travelers
though the Winter and Summer Road and Weather Conditions numbers.
- Road and Weather Information System (R/WIS): Mn/DOT has implemented
a statewide system of R/WIS sensors to collect real-time road surface
and weather conditions. This system is then used to provide real-time
road-related weather reports and forecasts. The current weather reports
and near-term forecasts are then integrated into a database that is
accessible to travelers through the Winter and Summer Road and Weather
Conditions numbers.
511 Vision
The short-term vision for 511 in Minnesota is to provide statewide
cellular access to the Winter and Summer Road and Weather Conditions
information system. The long-term vision is still being developed. The
final long-term vision will include input from tourism, transit, freight,
parking and other transportation information stakeholders. The long-term
vision will also explore the appropriate public and private roles to
assure long-term sustainability and quality of service.
Ongoing Activities
- Mn/DOT has created executive and technical groups to manage 511
implementation.
- Mn/DOT is informally contacting cellular providers for purposes
of enabling 511.
- Mn/DOT is coordinating with other N11 stakeholders (211, 711 and
911).
- A workshop is planned for mid-2001 to get stakeholder input to an
overall Minnesota vision and deployment plan for 511.
- An evaluation of the Winter and Summer Road and Weather Condition
system from a traveler perspective is planned for the spring of 2001.
The evaluation will look at both information content and menus used
to access the information.
For Further Information
March 1, 2001
