Get Around New York Fast—Call "511" Free Advice

New Travel Aide's "Real Time" Information on Subway, Bus, Car Routes

Oct 12, 2009 Ellen Freudenheim

Navigating New York can be tough, due to subway delays, construction, even getting lost in Queens or Brooklyn. New and free, "511" helps plot the fastest way to travel.

Tourists and busy New Yorkers don't have time to waste on subway delays, road construction and traffic jams. Finally, they don't have to. Thanks to two travel information services offering real time updates on public transit and car travel, it's now actually possible to plan a trip armed with up-to-date travel information on accidents, construction and other mass transit and transportation conditions. One such service is the popular, multi-city Web site Hopstop. The latest entrant into the NYC real-time travel information marketplace is "511 NY," launched in October 2009. 511, which provides information from its Web site, or by telephone (but not via PDA mobile, yet) is a serviced provided by New York State.

The best news for tourists and residents alike is that both Hopstop and 511 NY are free.

"511 NY:" A New Transit and Traffic Information Service, for NYC Driving, Public Transportation

New York's 511 Web-and-telephone service, like the better known "911" emergency number, is one thing taxpayers can use, and therefore appreciate. Run by the New York State Department of Transportation (and if they don't know what's going on on the roads, who does?) the 511 service provides up-to-date information on a wide variety of factors that can make or break a trip. Just plug in a departure location and destination, and the 511 service will pop up with:

  • traffic conditions on local roads and highways
  • public transportation options
  • ferry service and schedules
  • para transit and ride sharing information, and
  • information on airport delays

It's called "511 NY" but to access this service, just call 511 on a telephone, or log on to "511 NY,"

Find out about other free information service numbers, all ending in "1-1."

511 GIves Information on Delays, Traffic, Mass Transit in Long Island and Upstate, Too

The 511 Web-and-telephone service operates not only in New York City but statewide. It has nine different "menus" of information tailored respectively to nine geographic regions: the Adirondack, Watertown area; Albany-Saratoga; Syracuse-Utica; the Finger Lakes Region and Rochester; Hudson Valley and the Catskills; Long Island; Niagara and Buffalo; and Elmira and Binghamton.

This service is not unique to New York. A 511 Web-and-telephone service also exists in San Francisco, where it is advertised as a "one-stop phone and web source for up-to-the-minute Bay Area traffic, transit, rideshare, and bicycling information."

Tips: When to Use Hopstop, When to Use "511"

  • Driving Information in the 5 Boroughs of New York City Use 511 for traffic updates. 511 can be accessed online or by telephone. The 511 toll-free number is very helpful if one happens to be driving without a PDA or in an area with no Internet connection.
  • For Driving Outside of New York City For directions to destinations in New Jersey or Connecticut, the 511 service offers reasonably up to date information. It factors in and details construction delays, major accidents, and detours, and calculates what these obstacles mean for estimated driving time. During the winter, road conditions are updated at a minimum every four hours, and more frequently during storms.
  • Traveling in New York City using NYC Buses and Subways. Use either Hopstop or 511. To get around the five boroughs of New York City by public transportation, one can use either Hopstop or 511. Both give routes, distances and estimated travel time, and both factor in subway delays. Hopstop may be marginally easier to navigate, but it is only Web-based. Consumers can send information from the Hopstop Web site to a telephone but cannot access the information by telephone.

By Consolidating Information, NYS Traffic Department Helps Travelers, Drivers

One might wonder how good the information on the 511 system is, and where it comes from.

The 511 service is based on government data. It's possible today to electronically track when road repair work is begun, when it's finished, and the impact of these conditions on traffic. Input is also obtained from speed data and camera images, some of which are updated as frequently as every 30 or 60 seconds, providing the overall system with a constant stream of new information.

The 511 system simply makes this all information, and more, accessible to the public, within a reasonable amount of time, so that drivers and mass transit travelers can act accordingly.

In the pre-computer, Pleistocene era, if someone wanted to navigate New York City, the best tools to figure out the fastest route from, say, Coney Island to Riverdale, or from Riverdale to Forest Hills, were an old fashioned paper subway map, a road map, and maybe, if one were lucky enough to hear it, a radio update on major traffic or transit delays. Today, there’s as little excuse for arriving late as for a dog eating the homework. By spending just about five minutes online, or making a telephone call, people traveling in the NYC area can access up-to-date information on traffic and transit using Hopstop and the new 511 NY service.

The copyright of the article Get Around New York Fast—Call "511" Free Advice in NE U.S. Travel is owned by Ellen Freudenheim. Permission to republish Get Around New York Fast—Call "511" Free Advice in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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