Written by Umamah Bakharia 

Johannesburg roads are already looking better after the recently launched ‘Pothole FixGP’ mobile application. The app has already recorded 4 861 downloads on the Google Play Store, with 1 547 potholes reported by users so far.

The app is a collaboration between the Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).

Speaking to Radio Islam, CSIR Research Group Leader for Transport Infrastructure Management under Smart Mobility, Khangwelo Muronga says the app has been the best solution for citizens to complain about potholes.

“We understood that our citizens are complaining about potholes but they didn’t have a channel of where they should lodge their complaints,” says Muronga.

The app requires citizens to take an image of the pothole and through a series of questions allows the department to receive the information about the pothole. This has changed the way people report issues, by picking up the location of where the pothole is and the size of the pothole according to tyre measurement.

“We have a team waiting for these reports. When the team receives [the information, the ask is allocated] and we are able to track the date of reporting and what has been done of the pothole,” says Muronga.

He adds that “the responsibility of the province is to notify the relevant authority to say ‘that there are potholes being reported on your road, please do something about and update us with what you have done’ so that we can give feedback to the [complainant].”