u235

So, Verizon ran a traffic service you could dial with "*1". It was a good service, a really good one. You entered a major route and then the number 1 for north or 2 for south (same with east or west) and they told you if there were any delays, how long, where, if you should be in a particular lane to get by and what caused it. Great service. Awesome service.

Then the state took it over.

The first bit of bleh came when I dialed "*1" and got "HELLO THIS IS LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR SO-n-SO. WELCOME TO ..." It's damn near deafening. Then they tell you to dial 511 instead of *1. That sucks because you have to remember that it's 5, not 4 or 6 or 9. Ok sure, fine, whatever.

Next they basically say "Yep, you're stuck in traffic and you will be for the next hour." No information on where the accident is, how to best get by (if possible), or ... most importantly ... WHY I'm stuck. Yes that last little bit is actually pretty important. I don't feel so bad when it's a 5 car crack-up than if it's just holiday-shopping congestion.

So yeah, way to take a great, free service and suck it up. Just so we can all hear "HELLO THIS IS LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR...."