San Antonio, TX 'gamifies' 311 to reduce calls and improve digital services
Social media interaction and gamification lead to record citizen engagement with San Antonio’s new 311 app.
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Tierrabyte: The 311 on Cityflag’s App for City Services
Next month, local technology startup Cityflag expects to officially launch a new 311 mobile application for San Antonio.
Tierrabyte: The 311 on Cityflag’s App for City Services
San Antonio's new 311 app boasts 90 percent success rate so far, developer says - StateScoop
The founder of the firm that developed San Antonio, Texas’s new 311 app said Wednesday that six weeks in, more than 90 percent of requests submitted through the program have been resolved. The app, 311SA, was released in early August as the city’s new method for residents to report potholes, stray animals, faulty street lights and other municipal issues. But unlike other mobile apps San Antonio and other cities have previously used to take citizen requests, 311SA relies heavily on social-media interaction and its game-like interface to attract users. So far, more than 4,700 San Antonio residents have started using the app, submitting 2,544 requests, with 2,328 being dealt with, said Beto Altamirano, the founder of local software firm Cityflag, which developed the 311SA. “Our thesis was that our mobile application was going to create an engagement boost for users because of its social element and gamification,” Altamirano told StateScoop. “The success rate is at […]
San Antonio's new 311 app boasts 90 percent success rate so far, developer says - StateScoop
311SA Innovatively Connects City of San Antonio with Residents – Smart Cities Connect
311SA Innovatively Connects City of San Antonio with Residents – Smart Cities Connect
Destacados
The app boosts community engagement by encouraging citizens to up-vote flagged issues, and share them via social media – earning “points” that can be redeemed for medals and titles.
Users can see incoming requests in real time or click on the map to zoom in to see on the street level.
It takes only 3 seconds to generate a case reference number for a reported issue
Resumen
In 2018, San Antonio partnered with startup CityFlag to launch a new app that citizens can use to submit service requests. On average, the city receives 70,000 calls per month, so encouraging residents to shift to digital channels is an excellent way for the city to boost engagement and service levels while minimizing costs. San Antonio already had a 311 app in place, but community engagement was low and a better solution was needed.
The new app, $ 311SA$ , enables citizens to report service requests in less than 60 seconds – but ease-of-use is not its only advantage. What really sets 311SA apart is its unique focus on social media and game-like features. Citizens can share their service requests via social media – such as Facebook and Twitter – and the app encourages residents to up-vote issues that have already been flagged. Regular users are rewarded with points that can earn them medals and titles.
Together, these features have led to a significant boost in community engagement, with many more citizens than before actively reporting issues. At time of writing, 311SA has 6,127 unique users, who have reported a combined 4,326 issues. Of those service requests, 4,038 have been resolved – a 93% success rate.
On the back end, the app is integrated with the city’s CRM system, ensuring that flagged issues are routed directly to the appropriate department. The app also enables citizens to attach photos and other supporting information to their service requests, which can help city staff to more easily assess and resolve the issue.
Following the success of CityFlag’s technology in San Antonio, similar apps are also being developed for Mission, TX and Mexico City.