15 May 2014
The Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) on Wednesday launched a smartphone app that will enable city residents to report potholes, faulty traffic lights and other infrastructure issues with a few taps of their mobile phone.
According to the agency, the app is the first of its kind in the southern hemisphere.
Users can log an issue – whether it’s a pothole or a missing manhole cover – with the JRA as they it simply by submitting a service request from the app, which captures their exact location using their phone’s GPS receiver, and enables the sending of accompanying photographs and descriptions.
The information will enable the JRA to speed up its maintenance response times. According to local information technology firm Intervate, which developed the app, reports will be automatically linked and grouped at the JRA to avoid duplication of service requests and to ensure that issues that are reported by multiple users are prioritized.
“We are proud of the Find & Fix App because it speaks to our mission of innovation that improves people’s lives,” Intervate’s Craig Heckrath said at the launch of the app at Microsoft’s Johannesburg offices. “We are confident that South African citizens will embrace this app.”
JRA managing director Skhumbuzo Macozoma said the app “positions the City [of Johannesburg] and the JRA at the forefront of technology and innovation”, adding that the agency was “committed to becoming more accessible to citizens and road users and to developing itself into a centre of engineering excellence with enhanced service delivery and satisfied customers”.
The JRA “Find & Fix” app is freely available for download for the Windows 8 Phone from the Windows 8 Phone store and the Android version from the Google Play store. The iOS version will be available from the iTunes store from 24 May.
More information on the app, along with download links, can be found on the Intervate website or by following the Twitter hashtag #FindnFix.
The JRA encouraged residents to report all road and related infrastructure issues, including potholes, via the new app or 0860 562 874/ hotline@jra.org.za / Twitter @MyJra.
SAinfo reporter
