With summer on the way that means rain in Gauteng and as a result potholes will become more widespread than working traffic lights.
In a bid to address the scourge of potholes, the City of Johannesburg, Discovery Insure and Dialdirect Insurance have launched Pothole Patrol to “fast-track the ongoing war on potholes across the municipality”.
Pothole Patrol is an app for Apple iOS and Google Play and it allows you to report the location of a pothole and flag it to be repaired.
The launch of the app actually comes after the Pothole Patrol has repaired over 50 000 potholes since May of this year.
“We’ve made a considerable dent in solving the challenge of potholes on our roads and are pleased to take the partnership forward as we embark on the next phase, using the app and deepening our use of telematics to identify the areas most sorely requiring intervention by the Pothole Patrol,” chief executive officer for Discovery Insure, Anton Ossip said in a statement.
The Pothole Patrol app uses geo-location and you can log where a pothole is located using Google Maps. Once the pothole is in the process of being repaired, you will be notified in real-time.
You will need to complete a simple registration process in order to report potholes via the app. This process is free, but you will need to provide your name, surname and contact details. Registration is fast and once registered you can submit the location as well as photos of the pothole.
“The Pothole Patrol initiative is not only about speeding up the repairs of our City’s road infrastructure, but also to make our roads safer for all users who include motorists, motorcyclists, cyclists, as well as pedestrians. In addition, the use of the app and bot will subsequently reduce traffic congestion in pothole affected areas and aid seamless traffic flow, said City of Johannesburg executive mayor Mpho Moerane.
In addition to the app, there is also a Pothole Patrol WhatsApp bot. To communicate with the bot text “Hi” to 084 768 4653 (084 POT HOLE) and follow the prompts.
“The Pothole Patrol collaboration is exactly the kind of partnership that Johannesburg needs more of in other municipal areas of service delivery such as waste management, power supply, as well as infrastructure investment and development, among others. This way, we can easily build a better Johannesburg together,” Moerane concluded.
