Are "TIBS" still available as a weather service

[AggieMike88]

The commercial written test prep metions "Telephone Information Briefing Service" or TIBS as one of the available weather services. See AIM 7-1-8 for more info.

Is anyone using this? Before being this in the written prep, I have never seen or heard mention of this service. And with all of the easy to access online and tablet solutions, I wonder if it's even still a viable choice to obtain "all available information".

It could be one of the questions I could get, so I'll study it. But I was curious as to its practicality in todays aviation world.

 

[rk911]

http://www.cfinotebook.net/notebook/weather-and-atmosphere/telephone-information-briefing-service

 

[Wheels]

From the July/August FAA Safety Briefing.

Elimination of Telephone Information Briefing Service
As part of the FAA’s efforts to modernize and streamline service delivery, Flight Service will eliminate the Telephone Information Briefing Service (TIBS) in the contiguous United States, effective Sept. 13, 2018.

TIBS is a continuous telephone recording of meteorological and aeronautical information that pilots can access without going through a Flight Service specialist. Since its inception in the early 1980s, the broadcast allows pilots to access weather and aeronautical information along their route of flight. However, it does not satisfy the requirement to become familiar with all available information prior to a flight.

Originally created by specialists using scripts, TIBS uses text-to-voice technology to record the briefing. Flight Service created TIBS when there was a large demand for briefings, with the potential for extremely long wait times.
With the advent of the internet and other enabling technology, the demand for information from Flight Service specialists has declined. From more than 3,000 specialists in more than 300 facili- ties during the early 1980s, staffing has decreased to fewer than 400 specialists in three facilities. Radio contacts have dropped to less than 900 per day, from an average of 10,000 per day.

There are multiple sources available to pilots to access weather and aeronautical information, which are often presented in an easier to understand graphical format. Pilots no longer need to call a Flight Service specialist to adhere to Title 14 Code of Fed- eral Regulations (14 CFR) section 91.103 to maintain awareness of weather and aeronautical information.
With the area forecast to graphical forecast change in October 2017, the TIBS recording no longer includes a synopsis. Without the synopsis, the information pro- vided in the TIBS broadcast is less useful, which pro- vides a further rationale for discontinuing the service.
A safety risk management panel was held in January to determine the impact of this change to the National Airspace System (NAS). The panel did not identify any new hazards associated with the elimination of TIBS.

 

[ARFlyer]

It's going the way of the dodo!