Southwest Florida 511 Traveler Information System Website
Frequently Asked Questions

Click on a question to see the answer:

Q. What is 511?
A. As a way to deliver the real-time information collected by Intelligent Transportation Systems to travelers and commuters to help them with their trip decisions the Federal Communications Commission assigned "511" to the transportation community on July 21, 2000.

Q. When and why was 511 initiated?
A. 511 is America’s easy-to-remember travel information telephone number. 511 will replace and consolidate a proliferation of travel information telephone numbers around the country. The Southwest Florida 511 service focuses on travel information for users in the three southwest Florida counties of Lee, Collier and Charlotte.

Q. How does the information available from 511 differ from the travel information I get on the radio and television?
A. With 511, you can expect to receive considerably more route-specific information than you hear in a 30-second traffic news slot, and you will be able to access the information on demand, whenever you need it.

Q. When can I call Southwest Florida 511?
A. You can call 511 at anytime, as the system operates 24 hours a day and 7 days each week.

Q. What does it cost to call the Southwest Florida 511 System?
A. Calling 511 from a landline phone will cost no more than making a local call, and in most cases, it’s a free call; wireless phone users will incur no extra charges by calling 511. However, airtime minutes on individual calling plans will be used (and roaming charges may apply).

Q. I have an Internet phone (Voice Over IP/VOIP). Will I be able to access Southwest Florida 511?
A. Some Internet telephony (VOIP) providers have included compatibility with 511 in their service. The service uses the address (in Florida) you register with the provider (primarily used to identify your location for 911 or E911). When you call 511, your call will be routed to the 511 system which serves your registered location.
Not all VoIP carriers are providing these translations yet (Vonage is the first true VoIP carrier to do so, cable VoIP providers also should have translations in place for 511).

Q. What language does Southwest Florida 511 System understand and speak?
A. North American English. Common accents will be understood, however the system may not be able to recognize every voice, and the caller should switch to touch-tone input in such cases.

Q. What type of information is available through the Southwest Florida 511 System?
A. If there are any emergency conditions related to the area requested, you will hear those first. After that you can get information on:

  • Traffic: Traffic Reports compiled by highway, city or county in southwest Florida.
  • Public Transportation: information on Transportation Services provided by, and the ability to transfer to; Lee Tran (Lee County Transit), Charlotte Transit and Collier Area Transit (CAT).
  • Airport: information on, and the ability to transfer to, The Southwest Florida International Airport.
  • Other 511 Systems in Florida: You can transfer to all 511 Systems in Florida (Northeast Florida, Southeast Florida, Central Florida, Tampa Bay or Statewide).

Q. What are the tricks for navigating the system faster and more efficiently?
A. One way to move through the system faster is to interrupt (barge-in) the system. Once you know what questions will be asked, you can answer them as soon as the system starts asking them. You DO NOT need to wait for the system to finish the question before answering. Other tricks for faster and more efficient navigation are using the following commands:

  • Get Help - To get help just say “help.”
  • Go back to Main Menu: You can say “Main Menu” at any time to return to this menu.
  • Say “repeat” and the system will repeat the last piece of information, whether it was a question just asked, or traffic information you just received.
  • End the call: Say “goodbye”
  • Main Menu Choices: Traffic, Public Transit, Airport, Other 511 systems.

Q. What can I do when the system cannot recognize what I am saying?
A. Please speak as clearly as possible and try to minimize any background noise.

  • You can also ask for help at anytime simply by saying the word “Help.” The system provides help specific to the question just asked.
  • You can ask to go to Main Menu at anytime.
  • The southwest Florida 511 system also allows you use touch-tone (DTMF) input at various stages of the system. See the next question, for a list of touch-tone entries.

Q. What Counties, Metro Areas and Highways are covered by the Southwest Florida 511 System?
A. The Southwest Florida 511 system covers Interstate 75 and a number of State and County roads in Lee, Collier and Charlotte counties. Information may be requested by naming a county, a city, or a specific highway. In a number of cases, we can even provide information for a detailed area of a highway, such as near a specific exit along I-75.
Listed below are all of the covered roadways for the Southwest Florida system. But remember, if you are interested in an “area” you can always ask by naming a city. For example: Saying “Fort Myers” will return information on all covered roadways in the Fort Myers area.

Covered Roadways:  
Main Road Name DTMF Code
Alico Rd 2542#
Business 41 412#
Cape Coral Bridge  2273#
Causeway Boulevard 2287#
Cochran Boulevard 2624#
College Parkway 2655#
County Road 74 - Bermont Road 74#
County Road 762 - Tuckers Grade 762#
County Road 765 - Burnt Store Road 765#
County Road 846 - Immokalee Road 846#
County Road 850 - Corkscrew Road 850# 
County Road 862 - Vanderbilt Beach Road 862# 
County Road 865 - Bonita Beach Road 865# 
County Road 869 - Summerlin Road 869# 
County Road 876A - Daniels Parkway 876# 
County Road 884 - Colonial Blvd & SR884 8842# 
County Road 896 - Pine Ridge Road 896#
County Road 951 - SR 951, Isle of Capri Road, Collier Blvd 9512#
Daniels Parkway 3264# 
Daniels Road 3264#
Daniels Road Extension 3264#
I-75 75# 
Midpoint Bridge 6437# 
North Toledo Blade Boulevard 6678#
State Road 29 29#
State Road 776 - McCall Road 776#
State Road 78 - Pine Island Road, Bayshore Road 78#
State Road 80 - Palm Beach Blvd 80#
State Road 82 - MLK, Martin Luther King Blvd 82#
State Road 84 - Davis Blvd 84#
State Road 867 - McGregor Blvd 867#
State Road 884 8841#
State Road 951 - Isle of Capri Road, Collier Blvd 9511#
Toledo Blade Blvd 8653#
US 17 17# 
US 41 411# 
Veteran's Memorial Parkway 8383#
   
County DTMF Code
Charlotte 26-2427#
Collier 26-2655#
Lee 26-533# 
   
City DTMF Code
Bonita Springs 24-2664# 
Cape Coral 24-2273# 
Cypress Lake 24-2977# 
Englewood 24-3645# 
Estero 24-3783# 
Fort Myers 24-3678# 
Fort Myers Beach 24-3678# 
Golden Gate 24-4653# 
Immokalee 24-4666# 
Iona 24-4662# 
Lehigh Acres 24-5344# 
Marco Island 24-6272# 
McGregor 24-6247# 
Naples 24-6275# 
North Fort Myers 24-6678# 
Port Charlotte 24-7678# 
Punta Gorda 24-7868# 
Rotonda 24-7686# 
San Carlos Park 24-7262# 
Sanibel 24-7264# 
Villas 24-8455# 

Q. What about choosing cities or counties by touch-tone, or if a roadway doesn't have a number?
A. The following “rules” apply when entering by touch-tone.

  • For Interstates, US Routes, and State Routes – Use the number followed by #. You can enter up to first 5 digits of the road number followed by #. For Example: for information about I-75 caller will press 75#.
  • For named roadways (those without numbers) – Use the first 4 letters of the name followed by #.
  • For Cities – Use 24 (for “CI”) followed by the first five letters of the City Name followed by #. For Example: Naples caller will press 24-62753#

For Counties – Use 26 (for “CO”) followed by the first five letters of the County Name (if available) followed by #.


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