Frequently Asked Questions

What is the TIG?

The Travel Information Gateway (or TIG) is an Internet service created by the New York State Transportation Federation to provide the public with information useful in planning and conducting personal and commercial travel to - and within - New York State. The TIG was conceived and designed to make travel more convenient, efficient, and enjoyable while enhancing its safety, security, and efficiency.

What is the New York State Transportation Federation?

The New York State Transportation Federation comprises the state’s Department of Transportation, Thruway Authority, and Bridge Authority.  The Federation was created in November 2003 by Governor Pataki to more closely coordinate the activities of the state's transportation agencies and authorities and create a seamless statewide transportation system. The Federation will eventually expand to include other state agencies, transportation operators, and service providers to develop joint strategies for system improvements.

What information is available on the TIG?

The TIG contains information about a variety of travel modes and travel-related services available in New York State. The TIG can serve up real-time information about current operating characteristics of the state highway system, including the location of construction zones, traffic accidents, and major events that could have an impact on travel. It also provides information or links about travel by bus, truck, air, rail, water, bike, and foot, as well as access to weather forecasts, National Weather Service Alerts, and winter travel advisories (in season).  Information on construction events that have been planned for the upcoming months is also included to support trip planning by TIG users.

Where does the TIG get its information from?

Real-time transportation information comes from the members of the New York State Transportation Federation members and its partnering agencies, including the Niagara International Transportation Technology Coalition (NITTEC), and Transcom. The Federation uses a computer-based information exchange network to collect operational and real-time incident information about the transportation systems from its members and partners.  This operational information is posted to the TIG every ten minutes; winter weather information is updated every two-to-six hours.

"Static" information and links are developed from Federation agency sources and existing websites. Such information and links are checked periodically and broken links repaired or removed from the TIG.

Who owns and runs the TIG?

The TIG is presented by the New York State Transportation Federation and is the product of a cooperative effort by the NYS Department of Transportation, the NYS Thruway Authority, and the NYS Bridge Authority. Day-to-day management of the TIG is provided by the Department of Transportation, which also hosts the TIG pages on its computer servers.

I have some comments about the TIG - who do I send them to?

Click here to send us your questions and comments about the TIG.

I saw an accident / construction activity on a highway, but it didn't appear on the TIG - why?

This could be for a number of reasons: at present, participating agencies are focused on providing high quality information on a Priority Reporting Network of the most highly traveled Interstate, Parkways and state highways, the activity or event may have taken place on a highway not presently being reported on; the event may have not been reported to the agencies; or the activity / event may have been determined to have no, or only minimal impact on the safe flow of traffic. We expect to add additional highways to the reporting system in the future.

What defines an "Event with Transportation Impact" as noted on the Home Page tab?

The Federation realizes the importance of relaying detailed major event information to the public. The current capabilities within the "Real-time Transportation Status" system were designed to support common daily events such as lane closures, disabled vehicles, vehicle accidents, etc. To help communicate with the public more effectively on larger scaled events, we developed the Events with Transportation Impact Page ("ETIP").

There are three different types of events which can warrant an ETIP including a Construction Event ETIP, a Special Event ETIP, or an Emergency Event ETIP. An ETIP event is generally going to be several days or several weeks in duration. The following is a brief summary of the different types of ETIPs:

Construction Event ETIP: Describes a long term construction project along an interstate or other major arterial which would include significant disruption to the normal flow of traffic, long-term closure of the roadway and/or detouring of the traffic off the affected roadway.

Special Event ETIP: Discusses the travel impacts associated with an event sponsored by a third party such as the New York State Fair, a multi-day sporting event, or a concert drawing a large number of spectators or other gathering that is expected to cause significant delays or detours. Because of the geographic and population differences between urban and rural parts of New York State, different thresholds may be set for events based upon what is appropriate for the area.Special Event ETIPs are not intended to advertise the event, but rather they are meant to provide the traveling public, both attending the event and others who are trying to circumvent the congestion, with detailed information about expected conditions and delays.

Emergency Event ETIP: On a less frequent, but equally important level, we have unexpected emergencies which can cause long term disruption to an interstate highway or other major arterial; in this case an Emergency Event ETIP will be posted. Some recent examples in 2005 of Emergency Event ETIP’s were the mudslide along I87 (Northway) near exit 24 and the Hadlock Pond Dam break. Both events lasted several weeks in total duration and required the posting of detailed detour information.

Why can't I zoom in on all the maps accessible in the TIG?

The various elements of the TIG allow the user to select broad regions of the state, metropolitan areas, or travel-ways to help focus their search for information. At present, only the metropolitan area boxes provide a closer level of map detail. This helps make the delivery of the information over the Internet faster. We are considering making enhancements to the TIG's mapping capabilities in the future.

Why are the video images only available in the Albany, Lower Hudson Valley, Long Island and New York City areas? Will additional camera images be coming to other upstate New York metropolitan areas?

The NYS Transportation Federation is working to add additional CCTV camera snapshots to more upstate urban areas including Syracuse, Rochester, Buffalo, Binghamton and Hornell. In addition, appropriate field equipment, computer equipment, and network connections may have to be acquired and installed before video information from an area of particular interest to you appears on the TIG. As video information becomes available we will add the appropriate camera links to the TIG web site.

Why are the speed maps only available in the Albany area?

Providing speed maps for the Albany area was done on a "proof of concept" basis. What we've learned in making these available on the TIG will help us to develop speed map information for other areas of New York State.  The Federation is deploying new technologies which will assist us in the detection of aggregated traffic flow conditions and as the new technology is deployed, we will be adding speed maps and travel times to other metro areas.

Can I use the TIG to learn what's happening just across the Ontario / Quebec / Vermont / Massachusetts / Connecticut / New Jersey / Pennsylvania border?

Only to a limited degree. The TIG gets its information, including its map database, from agencies operating within, and focusing on, New York State. We are coordinating with neighboring states and Canadian provinces and expect to be able to provide additional border crossing and traffic condition information in the future.