Need MTA help? Dial 511

Whether you're lost in the subway system or you lost your wallet on an LIRR train, there is just one number you need to know to reach the MTA: 511.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority Tuesday announced that its customers can now use the three-digit number to get information and ask questions involving MTA services, including the Long Island Rail Road, Long Island Bus, subways and MTA Bridges and Tunnels.

The New York State Department of Transportation created 511 in 2009 to provide traffic conditions for state roads. With the MTA piggybacking on the service, 511 now becomes a clearinghouse for information involving all modes of travel in the region.

"This is a great example of how we are working to make it easier for our customers to get information and interact with the MTA at the same time that we reduce the MTA's administrative costs," MTA managing director Diana Jones Ritter said.

With the move to 511, the MTA has effectively consolidated 117 distinct customer service numbers -- which it had in 2009 -- into just one, said MTA spokesman Aaron Donovan. Customers who have numbers for MTA agencies saved on their phones can still use them, he said, but 511 "is the only number we'll be promoting from here on out."

However, the new 511 system won't connect customers with the MTA's Access-A-Ride bus system for the disabled in New York City.

William Henderson, executive director of the MTA's Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee, called having a single MTA phone number "a good idea," but he criticized the 511 service as difficult to navigate and "not at all intuitive." Henderson said it was "very difficult" to get an operator on the line when he called.

"When these systems work well, it really is a convenience for people so that they don't have to track down a number first before making a telephone call," Henderson said. "We have questions about how user-friendly it is right now."