Virginia Department of Transportation Upgrades Iteris-developed 511 Traveler Information System with Electric Vehicle Charging Station Location Layer

The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) recently launched an electric vehicle (EV) charging station overlay on its 511 Virginia mobile app and website, enabling users to locate charging stations along their planned routes.

In addition, the new overlay provides travelers with contact information, charging network details and information about specific EV connector types based on data sourced from the United States Department of Energy’s Alternative Fuel Data Center.

In an interview with WDVM-TV News, VDOT statewide traveler information program manager Scott Cowherd said the DOT hopes this new feature will help drivers across Virginia find a charging station quicker.

“We felt like this was the right opportunity, right time for us to do it, being the summer…We really feel like this is going to help the citizens because this site adds them as quickly as they are put out, so it’s in real time,” explained Cowherd.

Kevin Gregg, chief of maintenance and operations for VDOT, meanwhile, told CBS/ABC affiliate WJHL-TV News: “Since 2002, VDOT has provided a robust and innovative traveler information resource for the Commonwealth through the 511 Virginia program.

“These upgrades are in keeping with current technology and the needs of the motoring public.”

Iteris is proud to have supported the development, deployment and management of this important 511 system upgrade, having played a leading role in providing the core services of Virginia’s 511 interactive voice response (IVR) system, as well as the aggregation of transportation video, and the management of web-based traveler information and other data.

Virginia’s 511 service is built on ClearRoute™, Iteris’ next-generation traveler information system services solution, which powers 11 state and regional transportation agencies across the U.S. with multimodal traveler information via mobile apps, websites and IVR systems, supporting over 39 million combined interactions in 2020.

About the Author:

David Sadeghi is director, digital marketing at Iteris.

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