Smartphone app fixes 10,000 problems in Detroit

A smartphone app launched in Detroit earlier this year has vastly improved the reporting and fixing of neighbourhood problems.

Six months ago this week, the city of Detroit launched a new smartphone app – Improve Detroit – which has been downloaded by over 6,500 residents. More than 10,000 complaints made via the app have been closed since April. The average time to close a case is nine days, a vast improvement from when problems often languished for years.

Residents have used the app to get:

• More than 3,000 illegal dumping sites cleaned up
• 2,092 potholes repaired
• 991 complaints resolved related to running water in an abandoned structure
• 565 abandoned vehicles removed
• 506 water main breaks taken care of
• 277 traffic signal issues fixed

“The Improve Detroit app has ushered in a new era of customer service and accountability in city government,” Mayor Mike Duggan said. “It’s never been easier for Detroiters to get their voices heard and their complaints taken care of.”

Not only are problems getting resolved, but residents are raving about the app, which has a four star rating on the Google Play store.

"It saves time, it gets results, and I love how I can follow the progress being made on the complaint," comments Dan Wroblewski, who lives on Detroit's far west side and uses it to report issues while patrolling his neighbourhood.

The Improve Detroit app is just one of several the City of Detroit has made available as it works to bring its customer service into the digital age. Residents can also download the Detroit Police Connect app to get up-to-date information on DPD, contact police anonymously with tips to help keep their neighbourhood safe, find numbers for precincts, bureaus and other departments and more. Meanwhile, the DDOT Bus app provides riders with the real-time location, movement and arrival time of the next bus at their stop, saving them time and from having to wait in inclement weather unnecessarily. They can also plan their trip by seeing which routes and transfers to take.