511 Phone FAQs

The 511 service is an automated system and does not have an operator. Please be advised that pressing "0" on the system will not connect you to an operator. 

However, if you’d like to speak to a live operator from a specific agency, you can call 511 and ask for "Transit Agencies" and select the appropriate agency. Once you select the agency you want, you can choose to be transferred to that agency from the list of options. For example, saying "Operator" at the AC Transit menu will result in a transfer to an AC Transit operator who can assist you with AC Transit schedules and trip planning. 

The best way to give feedback is to use the feedback form. An alternate way to give feedback is to press *7 at any time during your call, and the 511 system will prompt you to leave a recorded message. We also periodically offer phone surveys in the system to get feedback from the public.

Yes. 511 does not charge for any features on the 511 phone service or 511.org. However, depending on your mobile phone plan, your carrier may apply standard usage charges. Most current wireless plans include local and nationwide calls, so calling 511 typically won’t cost you anything extra, but it’s always a good idea to check with your provider if you're unsure.

Using the Freeway Assist program, drivers on Bay Area freeways with a non-emergency situation (such as a flat tire, stalled car, or running out of gas) can dial 511 on their cell phones. Once connected, they should say “Freeway Assist.” The call will be transferred to the current call answering center that answers roadside call boxes, which will then determine the location of the motorist and provide appropriate roadside assistance services. Learn more about 511 Freeway Assist.

Callers who are hard of hearing can dial 711 and access the same 511 transportation information. 711 is the national three-digit number for access to Telecommunication Relay Services (TRS). Callers dial 711 and ask the operator to connect them to the 511 service. Once connected, the 711 operator acts as a go-between, relaying callers' requests for travel information to the 511 system and then providing system responses back to the callers.

Speech-impaired callers can use the touch-tone back-up system to access all of the 511 transportation information. To use touch-tone selections just press "*8" at the beginning of your call. The system will list the menu options with a corresponding number. You simply press the number that matches your choice. Once you've learned the touch-tones, there is no need to press *8 to hear the list of choices; just enter your selection. The number to enter will correspond to the order that the menu options are presented. For example, if you are at the Main Menu and want to use 511 Driving Times®, you will hear it listed as the third item. Therefore, by pressing 3 you will gain access to 511 Driving Times®. The only time this will not work is where we have long lists such as with transit and paratransit agencies or a list of cities in Traffic Conditions. These lists begin at 10 as opposed to one. Consequently, to access AC Transit (the first item in the long list) in Transit Agencies, press 10. View a complete list of touch-tone options here.

The system may be experiencing an unusually high volume of calls when you call, so the best advice is simply to call back. We are monitoring call volumes, and if we need to increase system capacity, we will do so.

There are three main reasons why you might not reach the 511 Phone System when dialing it:        

1. Your telephone company currently does not provide access to 511. MTC has diligently worked on providing 511 on all local phone services. If you can't connect to 511 with your provider, you can alternatively dial 888-500-INFO (888-500-4636) toll free. 

   If your telephone provider does not support 511, please call or write your vendor and ask when they will be implementing 511. Additionally, please contact us with the name of your vendor so we can become aware of your situation and offer support, if possible.    

2. You are calling from a centralized phone system such as a Private Business Exchange (PBX). PBXs are systems that allow for four-digit calling within your business. MTC wants to ensure that you and your colleagues will enjoy access to 511. Therefore, you may need to take a few simple steps to program your PBX to allow for 511 calling. If you need assistance with any programming questions, please call your PBX vendor.   
3. You are calling from outside the nine-county Bay Area, which includes Alameda and Contra Costa in the East Bay; Marin, Napa, Solano, and Sonoma in the North Bay; San Francisco and San Mateo on the Peninsula; and Santa Clara County. If you are calling from outside of these counties, you can still reach 511 by dialing 888-500-INFO (888-500-4636) toll free.

You can call (888) 500-4636 to access the same traveler information as you would by calling 511.

In the event of an emergency, please call 911 (available 24 hours a day, toll-free). According to the California Highway Patrol, an emergency includes reporting an accident, a crime, or an unsafe driver. Be sure to provide your name, as exact a location as possible, and a description of the situation—including cars, license plates, persons, or injuries—as needed.

The driving times posted on the dozens of changeable message signs around the Bay Area come from GPS probe vehicle traffic data that 511 purchases from HERE, Inc. 511 calculates average driving times for each of the three destinations on each sign, updating every two minutes. The destinations are chosen to reflect heavily traveled routes. You can also get these and other driving times by calling 511 and saying "Driving Times®.”   

The 511 program is administered by MTC, with CHP providing incident information and Caltrans operating the signs.

Call 511 and say “Driving Times.” When prompted for a starting or ending point within 511 Driving Times®, you can request a city, bridge, or hotspot. A hotspot is a location that generates or experiences a high volume of traffic, such as the Bay Bridge Toll Plaza or San Francisco International Airport. 

For some cities with multiple freeways within their jurisdictions, we've provided "refined points" to help you better define your starting and ending points. This means instead of saying the city name, you can say the refined point name directly and skip a step in the menu. For example, when the system asks for a starting point, you may say, "880 at 98th Street" instead of simply saying "Oakland."     

View a complete list of everything you can say as a 511 Driving Times® origin or destination. 
 

• I-80 and 4th Street
• I-280 and 6th Street
• Golden Gate Bridge Toll Plaza
• I-280 and Highway 1

• U.S. 101 and I-880
• I-280 and I-680
• U.S. 101 and Hwy 85
• Hwy 17 and I-280
• CA-87 and CA-85

• I-880 and I-980
• 98th Ave. and I-880
• Hwy 13 and I-580
• Hwy 13 and Hwy 24

• Mission Blvd and I-880
• Mission Blvd and I-680
• Hwy 84 and I-880

• US-101 and Broadway
• I-280 and Trousdale Rd

• Hwy 92 and I-880
• Hwy 238 and I-580

• Hwy 237 and I-880
• I-680 and E. Calaveras Blvd.

• Moffett Field
• Hwy 85 and Hwy 237
• I-280 and El Monte Road

• U.S. 101 and Whipple Ave.
• I-280 and Hwy 84

• I-80 and Cutting Blvd.
• I-80 and Richmond Parkway
• Richmond Bridge Toll Plaza

• I-880 and Davis Street
• I-80 and Richmond Parkway
• I-580 and Estudillo Ave.

• U.S. 101 and Hwy 92
• I-280 and Hwy 92

• U.S. 101 and Montague Expressway
• I-280 and Stevens Creek Blvd.

• U.S. 101 and Lawrence Expressway
• U.S. 101 and Hwy 237
• I-280 and Hwy 85

• I-205 and Tracy Blvd
• I-205 and W 11th St

• Bay Bridge - Oakland side
• Bay Bridge - San Francisco side

• Benicia Bridge - Benicia side
• Benicia Bridge - Martinez side

• Caldecott Tunnel-Orinda side
• Caldecott Tunnel-Oakland side

• Carquinez Bridge - Vallejo side
• Carquinez Bridge - Crockett side

• Dumbarton Bridge - Fremont side
• Dumbarton Bridge - Menlo Park side

• Golden Gate Bridge - Marin side
• Golden Gate Bridge - San Francisco side

• Richmond San Rafael Bridge - Richmond side
• Richmond San Rafael Bridge - San Rafael side

• San Mateo Bridge - Hayward side
• San Mateo Bridge - San Mateo side

You can call 511 and say "Traffic Conditions" to get real-time information on incidents, construction announcements and slowdowns. View a list of the highways, bridges, cities, and hotspots that you can say when using the Traffic Conditions shortcut in the 511 phone service. Please note that if you want to refine your search to a specific direction on a highway, you can say, for example, "I-80 East" or "U.S. 101 North."

There are two ways to refine your requests for traffic condition information. First, add your travel direction to your request. For example, instead of saying, "Interstate 80," say, "Interstate 80 West." This lets you hear only the incidents that affect traffic heading west on Interstate 80. You can also request information for a particular city in Traffic Conditions.         

The second way to get more narrowly tailored information is to use 511 Driving Times®. For example, if your trip is from San Francisco to San Jose, you will only hear traffic incidents for the section of U.S. 101 between the two cities. You will not hear incident information on U.S. 101 north of San Francisco or south of San Jose.

In areas with speed information, only incidents where the traffic is moving less than 40 miles per hour are included in the phone service. 511 receives the majority of its incident information from the California Highway Patrol (CHP). Because of direct links to the CHP system, incidents are typically reported on 511 almost as soon as they are logged.

If an incident wasn't on 511, it could be because you called before CHP had a chance to report it, it was never reported to the CHP system, or traffic wasn’t significantly impacted (i.e., speeds remained above 40 miles per hour).

Regardless, 511 continues to work closely with CHP to ensure that all incidents are reported to the system in a timely manner.

511 includes more than 40 public transportation agencies, including eight out-of-region agencies with routes connecting to Bay Area cities. View a list of agencies you can request in the Public Transportation Agency menu when you call 511.

To get real-time transit departure information, call 511 and say "Departure Times" at the main menu. You will then be asked to enter your Stop ID. If you don’t know your Stop ID when calling, you can say your agency and route, and you will be prompted to use 511's backup help system to hear your departure times and learn your Stop ID number.

Visit the Transit Departures FAQ page for more information.

If you need transit information after hours, you can always go to 511.org and use the “Transit” feature on our interactive map or visit our comprehensive list of agencies, which includes links to each agency’s website.

It's possible that the 511 system may have misunderstood your selection. The best solution is to call 511 back. It's a free call, and it will only take seconds to make your selection again. If you select an agency and hear the system read back a different agency name, then before you are transferred out of 511, say "Stop," "Go Back," or Press *9 to stop the transfer and make your choice again.

From the Transit Agencies menu (accessed by saying, "Transit Agencies" or "Paratransit" from the Main Menu or the Public Transportation menu), say "List" for a list of all agencies. You can also search by city by saying "Cities." The system will respond with, "What city will you be traveling from?" Provide the city name, and 511 will give you a list of transit agencies that serve that city. Select the agency you want, and the system will take you to that agency's menu to choose from the available options. If you do not select an option, the system will automatically provide you with the most-used agency in the city you requested.

On our Phone Shortcuts page, you can also view the full lists of transit and paratransit agencies that you can say when calling 511.

If you ever need help during your call, just say "Help" or "What are my choices?" at any time to hear your options for the current menu. To return to a previous menu, say "Go back." To start over, say "Main Menu.”