The Service Authority for Freeways and Expressways program provides free emergency telephone service to stranded motorists through call boxes. The program is a joint effort between California Department of Transportation, California Highway Patrol and the Transportation Agency.
The call box program provides a system of 190 call boxes allowing motorists to request roadside assistance along the following routes: State Route 1, State Route 68, State Route 156, US Highway 101, Jolon Road (G14, G18), and Arroyo Seco Road / Carmel Valley Road (G16). Since the program’s inception in 1999, many system improvements have been implemented, including improved accessibility for disabled motorists, enhanced system coverage and faster response to call box calls. The call box system has also completed upgrades for digital service conversion, and speech and hearing impaired capability. In February of 2014, the Transportation Agency entered a three-year maintenance and improvement contract to ensure all call boxes are maintained and meet ADA compliance.
The call boxes are directly linked to a call answering center operated under contract by Keolis America Inc. /CDS Net. Live operators dispatch the calls to the California Highway Patrol, tow truck, and/or emergency services. The service level provided by the private call answering center exceeded expectations in fiscal year 2015-2016. In June 2016, following a competitive procurement process, the Agency approved a new three-year contract with Keolis America Inc./CDS Net to continue as the call box answering service. The new contract is in place until 2019, and includes an option for one renewal for an additional three years.
Although cell phone usage has reduced the need and use of call boxes in some locations, there remain areas not well served by cell phones, such as on parts of Highway 1, Arroyo Seco Road, Jolon Road and parts of Carmel Valley Road. In fiscal year 2015-2016, a total of 850 calls were made from the 190 call boxes in operation, making for an average of approximately 70 calls per month. Approximately half of the calls came from call boxes located on Highway 1, and seven of the eight most used call boxes are located on Highway 1. The most used call box location is at Highway 1 and the Bixby Bridge.
The 2015-2016 annual report builds upon the previous two annual reports to provide a third year of current data to evaluate the program’s performance. Going forward, the Transportation Agency will continue to track call box usage for year-to-year comparisons, and will evaluate if there are opportunities to reduce the number of call boxes in Monterey County, thereby reducing program costs. The Agency anticipates having a plan for updating the call box program later this fiscal year.