Montana, United States
Final Evaluation Report for the Greater Yellowstone Regional Traveler and Weather Information System (GYRTWIS)
Summary Information
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-exisitng *ROAD and 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 distributed 1,500 questionnaires equally between districts. In 2003, the "after" 511 survey was conducted and 3,000 questionnaires were distributed based on state population distribution. The purpose of each survey was to investigate users’ perceptions of road and weather information phone services with respect to accuracy, availability, usefulness, and understandability of the information provided. For the 2002 survey, the percentage of responses by district was fairly uniform and approximately 348 mail-back questionnaires were returned. In 2003, approximately 676 questionnaires were returned.
RESULTS
In general, the results showed the new 511 service was well received. As an average across all measures of satisfaction, overall customer satisfaction ratings increased from 71 to 81 percent after the new 511 service was deployed. The table below excerpted from the report, compared customer satisfaction before and after the 511 service was deployed. The author indicated caution should be used in making direct comparisons between the before and after survey data since each survey presented the same types of questions differently. The before survey measured respondents perception of the system, and the after survey measured respondents satisfaction with the system.
BEFORE 511
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AFTER 511
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Accuracy |
Road Conditions & Weather Forecasts: Somewhat Accurate/Very Accurate = 62% |
Road Conditions Information: Satisfied/Very Satisfied = 81%
Weather Forecasts: |
Availability |
Somewhat Available/Very Available = 62% |
Satisfied/Very Satisfied = 77% |
Usefulness |
Somewhat Useful/Very Useful = 88% |
Satisfied/Very Satisfied = 90% |
Understandability |
Somewhat Easy/Very Easy = 73% |
Satisfied/Very Satisfied = 82% |