We have described the Let's Go spoken dialog system, a telephone-based mixed-initiative spoken dialog system for Pittsburgh area bus information. The individual components are described, highlighting the specific issues in constructing such a system with general dialog tools. Let's Go is specifically designed to improve dialog systems for the elderly and non-native speakers of English, two important populations who have difficulty in using standard spoken dialog systems.
The Let's Go project is currently setting up specific experiments with our target populations to better understand their limitations in accessing information through telephone-based spoken dialog systems.