Torontonians who find themselves in the presence of a dreaded pothole can now snitch on the vexing vehicular hazard with the help of two new mobile apps.
The City of Toronto announced the new reporting tools on Friday, making it easier to alert the city to the presence of pot holes.
"For residents this is great news," Mayor Rob Ford said Friday. "The new app will improve customer service, make government more efficient, accessible and accountable and make our roads safer and easier to use.
"The city will now know instantly know about pot holes where they need to be filled. This means the work gets done quicker and more efficiently and improves customer service excellence, which all taxpayers want and deserve."
Toronto says there are potentially tens of thousands of pot holes on city streets. The hope is that they can cut that number down by giving drivers the chance to report them immediately.
The city's aim is to have every pot hole filled within five days of it being reported.
Residents can already report pot holes by calling city services at 311, but the mobile apps remove the need to speak to customer service agents.
The apps, SeeClickFix for all Blackberry, iPhone and Android smart phones; and TDOT 311, specifically for iPhone devices, also allow photos to be included in the alert.
To download the app, residents can visit www.toronto.ca/open311.
Earlier this month Ford introduced a similar app for use in reporting graffiti.
