BALTIMORE (Jan. 16, 2009)—As Maryland welcomes hundreds of thousands of visitors for the 56th Presidential Inauguration, the Maryland Department of Transportation’s State Highway Administration (SHA) is piloting a new customer information tool. SHA announced today they will use Twitter—a free social messaging tool—to post updates about traffic conditions.
Existing Twitter users can subscribe to the SHA's posts by visiting
twitter.com/MDSHA and then clicking on “Follow” button. New users can sign-up for a free account by visiting
twitter.com/signup .
Twitter users can receive the brief, 140-character updates on any portable device that can receive text messages. Just go to the Twitter Settings-->Devices page and configure your device to receive updates.
Then, visit the user(s) you wish to follow and make sure Twitter indicates that
you are "following" and "Device updates" are ON.
There is also an asundry of free software tools and gadgets that interface with Twitter. Just visit
twitter.com/downloads to see what is available.
Additionally, the Maryland Transportation Authority will record up-to-date voice messages on a toll-free line, 1-888-MDTA411 (1-888-638-2411).
“If you must drive on January 20, please be sure to check traffic conditions and allow a tremendous amount of extra travel time,” said State Highway Administrator Neil J. Pedersen. “We want everyone to enjoy their visit to the nation’s capital and the State of Maryland.”
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