Telvent, a real-time IT solutions and information provider, announced that the company has been selected by the Maryland Department of Transportation-State Highway Administration (MD-SHA) to implement, operate, host and maintain a travelers information system accessed through the national abbreviated three-digit dialing code “511.” The new traveler’s information system will cover the entire state of Maryland, including the Baltimore metropolitan region and the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C., and will include information from the Northern Virginia suburbs. In addition, the company will develop a new companion traveler information website.
The new traveler information system has been designed to handle periods of peak volumes that might occur during major traffic or weather events. The new system’s Interactive Voice Response (IVR) will allow callers to customize the information they want to receive by setting up their preferences on the “511” website. When they dial “511” they immediately will receive the information of interest to them without having to make selections in the voice menu system to reduce accidents and congestion while increasing safety and mobility in the area.
Throughout the duration of Telvent’s contract, the company will work with major stakeholders such as the Maryland Transportation Authority (MdTA), the University of Maryland’s Center for Advanced Transportation Technology and MD-SHA to create a multiplatform service. The new traveler information system will provide travel information from multiple modes of transportation by phone and on a new website. The 511 system will reside at Telvent’s DTN secure hosting facility in Omaha, Neb., and be monitored and maintained by Telvent Transportation staff in New York and Rockville, Md.
Telvent, which has extensive experience working on implementing 511 systems, has implemented successfully other large regional and statewide 511 projects in San Diego, San Francisco, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. “We are pleased to help MD-SHA further its plans to improve mobility on the region by providing travelers with accurate real-time traffic and road condition information which will allow them to have more control over their travel,” says Ignacio Gonzalez, Telvent chief executive officer.
