Method of and system for providing continually updated traffic or other information to telephonically and other communications-linked customers

A traffic information telephone channel communication system interconnecting a central station and a plurality of telephone callers, including mobile or vehicular telephone callers, distributed in different zones throughout a geographical area and all telephonically linked by land lines or radio links with said station, said system having, in combination, a central station provided with means for collecting and updating traffic information useful for said callers from a plurality of sources and on a real-time and continual basis for all the zones throughout said area, and means for organizing and preparing the same for computer-controlled audiotext traffic report transmission to callers through voice messaging equipment;

• said computer being provided with means for handling call-ins and validating pay-per-caller and subscriber caller calls, and a separate database for storing and retrieving caller phone-numbers for later call back look-up and triggering;
• means responsive to the validated call for thereupon responding to the entering by the caller on the caller's telephone keyboard of a code for a particular zone of interest so specified by the caller, by transmitting-back to the caller from the station a report of the traffic information requested by the caller and in the particular caller-specified zone;
• means responsive to the caller's further keyboard entry requesting both automatic updating of significant changes in the traffic information within said caller-specified zone and caller-specified and controlled variable time period following said report, by storing the caller's telephone number in said database for such purpose;
• and means responsive to the determination at the central station of such significant changes in that zone within that caller-specified time period for triggering the look-up of said database and call back by the station to the caller of an updated traffic report in said specified zone.

In a method of traffic information telephone channel communication between a central station and a plurality of callers distributed in different zones throughout a geographical area and all telephonically linked with said station, in which the steps are performed of collecting and updating traffic information useful for said callers from a plurality of sources and on a real-time and continual basis for all the zones throughout said area;

• responding to the telephone dialing of the station on the caller's telephone keyboard and the entering on said keyboard of a code for the particular zone of interest so specified by the caller, by telephonically transmitting back from the station to such caller a report of the traffic information requested by the caller and in the particular zone specified by the caller;
• the improvement comprising the caller's controlling by further keyboard entry of both a request for automatic updating of significant changes in the traffic information within said specific particular zone and other caller-specified zones, and of the setting of variable caller-selected time periods following said report;
• responding to such caller requests by storing the caller's telephone number and causing the station to call back said caller's telephone number and causing the station to call back said caller's telephone number to deliver such update of significant changes should they occur in the zone(s) within that caller's requested time period following said report.