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511 traveler and weather information system receives high satisfaction ratings.

The Greater Yellowstone Weather and Traveler Information System (GYRTWIS) is a regional 511 telephone traveler information system in Montana. Deployed in January 2003, the GYRTWIS service integrated the existing #SAFE wireless en-route weather information system, with the SAFE-PASSAGE pavement temperature model, to enable travelers to receive site-specific predictive weather information using a wireless phone, landline, or Internet connection.

To evaluate the impacts of road weather information on the traveling public the Western Transportation Institute and the Montana State University (WTI/MSU) surveyed Montana residents before and after the new 511 service was deployed. 511 replaced the pre-existing *ROAD and 1-800 recorded message services which provided non-interactive road weather information in the state for about two years. In 2002, WTI/MSU administered the "before" survey and received 348 mail-back questionnaires. In 2003, the "after" 511 survey was conducted and approximately 676 mail-back questionnaires were returned and analyzed.

The results showed that the new 511 service was well received. The majority of Montana travelers surveyed in 2003 were quite satisfied with the accuracy, availability, usefulness, and ease of understanding the weather forecast and road conditions information provided. For all measures of satisfaction evaluated, a higher percentage of respondents indicated they were satisfied with the GYRTWIS 511-telephone service when compared to the previous *ROAD and 1-800 telephone services. As an average across all measures of satisfaction, overall customer satisfaction ratings increased from 71% to 81% after the new 511 service was deployed.

See the related ITS Benefits Database entry for more information.

See related system costs data in the ITS Costs Database.

Past "Benefit of the Month" summaries are also available.