Following are two numbers I keep on speed dial: They help me get things done fast and easy:

511 is a free phone service that consolidates Bay Area transportation information into a one-stop resource. I use it to get traffic information and estimated drive-times.

When I call 511, I get an enthusiastic man who sounds like a radio announcer.  He offers voice prompts to start conversation. I usually begin by barking “DRIVING TIMES.” Then I answer his questions so he knows what City or landmark I’m starting from and where I want to end up.  Then he gives me the ideal route, with estimated drive times and where I can anticipate slow-downs or accidents.

511 also provides schedule, route and fare information for the Bay Area’s public transportation services, and carpool and vanpool referrals, bicycling information and more.

1-800-GOOG-411  is definitely meant for speed-dial,  not only because you’ll use it all the time but because it has so many digits and it’s way too hard to figure out that alpha-numeric thing.  Also known as “GOOG-411″ its a free information directory that is infinitely better than any 411 you call from any phone.

When I call GOOG-411 I get a sleepy man who sounds like a yoga instructor. I usually start my conversation with him by barking “SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.” Then I follow his prompts with the name of the business I need to reach. He responds with the name and phone number and then says “I’ll connect you.” If I need an address, I bark “INFORMATION” and he’ll tell me where the place is. (That was very helpful when I couldn’t find Agave Restaurant on Townsend Street the other night– I thought it was near Delancey Street instead of down by the train station.)

San Francisco is very proud of its 311 service, but I’ve found it sort of useless so far. I guess it’s a good number to call if you want to know how to handle graffiti, vandalism or a towed/abandoned car, but when I called it the other day to see where I could refer a low-income homeowner for financial counseling, they had nothing to offer. I suspect my request was too sophisticated.  It also took the guy a long time to figure out he couldn’t help me. Since then I’ve found the 311 database of information, which I think is a more efficient way to get the answers I need.

This entry was posted on Saturday, July 5th, 2008 at 12:12 pm and is filed under Living in San Francisco. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

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