App’s snappy fix for Melbourne council maintenance woes

A MELBOURNE-based app that allows residents to report problems to their local councils has revealed a citywide picture of hot spots for issues such as parking, graffiti and noise.

Snap Send Solve helps residents report problems to councils.

A MELBOURNE-based app that allows residents to report problems to their local councils has revealed a citywide picture of hot spots for issues such as parking, litter and waste collection.

The Snap Send Solve app, started more than five years ago, encourages users to take a photo on their phone of problems such as potholes, broken signs and vandalism, and automatically sends a notification to the relevant council or authority.

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The app has had almost 40,000 reports in the past six months and is now the preferred method of reporting for major Melbourne councils.

Data from Outware Mobile, the app’s creator, shows central Melbourne is a hotspot for graffiti reports while more users in Manningham report about litter and Wyndham leads the way on reports about parking issues.

Top Snap Send Solve councils.

Of more than 4500 reports to Melbourne City Council between January and June this year, 46 per cent were related to graffiti, seven per cent related to litter and five per cent related to hard waste.

Of 3172 reports to Hobsons Bay Council, which has embraced the app and recommends it to residents, 13 per cent of reports related to parking, 20 per cent were general requests and eight per cent related to pavement maintenance.

Outware Mobile’s Danny Gorog said councils had been proactive processing reports to make sure issues are speedily resolved.

“Snap Send Solve is the easiest way to report issues to any council in Victoria,” he said.

“We’ve been working with many councils around Victoria, including Hobsons Bay and Melbourne City Council to make sure the app is easy to use, and reports sent to council get actioned promptly.”

Top councils by key issues.

Wyndham City Council received almost 2400 reports in the first half of this year, with almost a third relating to parking.

The City of Greater Dandenong was sent more than 2200 reports, almost a quarter of which were also parking related, and 11 per cent about hard rubbish.

And Port Phillip City Council received almost 2000 reports, with 31 per cent relating to hard waste.

The Snap Send Solve app is available in the Apple app store and on Google Play for Android phones.

Find out more at the wesbite, here.

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