Traveler Services website reaches growing audience

Idaho’s 511 Traveler Services system continues to grow as motorists become more familiar with its capabilities to enhance safe driving, explains coordinator Tony Ernest.

With the widespread use of smart phones and faster Internet connections, more users prefer the web-based site (511.idaho.gov) over the 5-1-1 telephone option.

“That is fairly common as the system becomes more sophisticated – people tend to migrate to the latest technology,” the coordinator said.

An early winter snowstorm that hit most of Idaho in November 2010 created a significant spike in use of the system last season. The website received 1.14 million site visits in November 2010. The same month, 124,000 calls were made to the 5-1-1 phone system, and the mobile web version recorded 74,000 visits.

The busiest day, Ernest said, was Nov. 23, 2010 – the Tuesday before Thanksgiving when a storm impacted most of the state. On that date, the website had 175,888 visits.

Published 11-18-2011