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SMARTROUTE SYSTEMS’
SMARTRAVELER BECOMES FIRST TRAVELER INFORMATION SYSTEM TO
RECEIVE OVER 50 MILLION CALLS
New York, NY -
November 9, 2005 - SmartRoute Systems (SRS), a Westwood One
(NYSE: WON) company, announced today that it has received over 50 million
calls to its SmarTraveler information system in Boston, MA. Since its
launch by the Massachusetts Highway Department in January 1993, as one of
the first traveler information systems in the country, SmarTraveler has
experienced, and continues to experience, the greatest number of calls of
any comparable system in the US.
SmarTraveler provides
eastern Massachusetts drivers with the timely, accurate, and
route-specific information needed navigate the busy transportation system
in and around Boston. Travelers get real-time traffic and transit
information with a toll-free call to *1 on their cellular phone or by
dialing 617-374-1234 from a land-based phone. The information is also
available at smartraveler.com. Calls to the service are on the rise, with
a five-year average growth-rate of over 10 percent. Last year,
SmarTraveler received 6.7 million calls and is expected to surpass seven
million this year.
“By giving motorists
up-to-the-minute traffic conditions, we afford them basic information that
creates smarter and better commuters,” said Massachusetts Transportation
Secretary John Cogliano.
“While 50 million
calls is a milestone we’re proud of, it’s really just a waypost on the
road to an exciting future,” added Jim O’Neill, the Vice President and
General Manager of SmartRoute Systems.
SmartRoute Systems
provides local traffic, news, sports and weather information to wireless,
Internet, in-vehicle navigation systems and voice portal customers. SRS
reports include: traffic incidents, road and lane closures, construction
delays, scheduled roadwork, event delays, travel times and alternate
routes. SRS also manages traffic information centers for state and local
departments of transportation. SmartRoute Systems was acquired by Westwood
One in November 2000 and now has traffic incident data from Metro
Networks, in addition to news and other local content from Metro Source.
Westwood One provides over 150 news, sports, music, talk, entertainment
programs, features, live events and 24/7 formats. Through its
subsidiaries, Metro Networks/Shadow Broadcast Services,
Westwood One provides
local content to the radio and TV industries including news, sports,
weather, traffic, video news services and other information. Westwood One
serves more than 5,000 radio stations. Westwood One is managed by Infinity
Broadcasting Corporation.
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Press Contact
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Peter Sessa
Westwood
One 212.641.2053 peter_sessa@westwoodone.com
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