Caltrans to Try ‘Commuter TV’ : Freeways: Workplace television monitors will give motorists immediate traffic information in an experiment that starts in February.

With the click of a remote-control wand, homeward-bound commuters in some downtown office buildings will soon be able to tune in “Commuter-Television” to find out if their freeway routes are running smoothly or are gridlocked.

For the first time, state officials will try to give motorists up-to-the-minute traffic information through television monitors in the workplace, and maybe later at home, in an experiment that starts in early February.

The California Department of Transportation will test this high-tech gimmick in the war on congestion for the next six months in Los Angeles, Caltrans officials announced at a press conference Tuesday.

TV monitors installed in the lobbies of 10 office buildings will display frequently updated traffic reports, noting hot spots for congestion, roadwork and accidents. Some of the monitors will be controlled by remote wands allowing drivers to call up information on specific routes, Caltrans officials said.

If the $325,000 experiment is a success, the electronic service may one day be linked to office computer networks, home computers and the family TV set, according to experts from Teletext Communications Inc., the company hired by Caltrans to set up the system and run the experiment.

“We are hopeful this project will enable commuters to easily obtain timely traffic information on demand so they can make educated decisions about the best routes to take on their trips home,” Caltrans District Director Jerry B. Baxter said.

On Tuesday, however, the experiment got off to a shaky start. While reporters watched and the news cameras rolled, two monitors used in the press conference balked and malfunctioned, while red-faced technical experts fiddled with the remote buttons.

Finally a color graphic flashed sample messages on the screens: “Santa Ana Freeway northbound ramp closed at Rosemead . . . 710 congested, 15-minute delay.”

The system has been designed to pick up the latest traffic information from the existing computerized traffic command centers run by the state and the city. It will broadcast the information between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. weekdays, experts explained.

While this will be the first time such technology has been used in the United States, such systems are used in England to give airplane and train travelers the latest on departure and arrival times, said Bob Evans, a spokesman for Teletext Communications.

In this highly specialized form of broadcasting, the printed text and graphics ride a piggyback signal on commercial airwaves, he explained. For about $300, monitors and television sets can be outfitted with the equipment to receive the signals, Evans said.

“There are about a quarter-million sets in the U.S. today that are set up to receive these signals,” Evans explained. But these are set up to receive stock market quotations and news bulletins, not traffic information.

Evans said it is also possible to link the traffic reports to office computer networks so workers can simply call up the latest dispatch before leaving the office. Even home computers can be linked into the network, he said.

The 10 monitors will be located high in the lobbies of buildings such as the Arco Plaza, the First Interstate Trade Center and Los Angeles City Hall, Baxter said. “If the demonstration is well received . . . additional televisions may be installed in other business centers like Century City.”