L.A. Station Launches Mobile Traffic Alert Service

Listeners to an Infinity news station in Los Angeles won’t have to wait 10 minutes for the next traffic report if they don’t want to; they can get personalized traffic reports sent as text messages to their cell phones.
Infinity announced the venture with Mobile Media, 3United Mobile Solutions and Westwood One.
The VP of AM programming for KFWB, David Hall, said the “Traffic on Demand” service allows listeners to get traffic info whenever they need it.
The service is available to the majority of Los Angeles mobile phone subscribers. The listener sends a chosen route number via text message to telephone number 98011. The traffic status of that highway is sent via return text message, at a cost of 75 cents per message.
Content comes from KFWB’s traffic reportsand information supplied by Westwood One; 3United provids the application that enables the info to be used on mobile phones.
Mobile Media is providing the connectivity to the mobile network operators and manages the mobile messaging platform. It said there are no subscription fees.
“Experience shows that sending a one-word text message to an easy-to-remember short number and receiving an immediate response encourages people to use the service as part of their daily lives,” says Ben Goodspeed, CEO of 3United.
He said drivers will come to rely more often on receiving the information they want, when they want it, to the palms of their hands.
The companies cited a recent report published by the Texas Transportation Institute saying North American traffic is growing worse, costing Americans $63.1 billion a year.