Transport ministry app chalks up 6K reports on potholes, road damage
THE Ministry of PublicWorks and Transport has received nearly 6,000 reports on road damage – such as potholes – through its Road Care Mobile App.
Users of the app simply take a picture of the damage, tag the location, and send it through the app.
Public works ministry spokesman Heang Sotheayuth said on August 28 that from December 2018 – when the app launched – until July 2022, the ministry had received 5,922 reports through it.
He added that in cooperation with the local authorities, the ministry had addressed most of the reports as quickly as possible, although some had been incorporated into long-term development plans, and would have to wait.
“When we talk about the efficiency of our work and improving road maintenance work, we are referring to priority solutions for people. It does not mean that we solve every single issue immediately. When we receive a complaint, we give it our full attention. Generally the app gives us a good idea of which problems affect the most people, and this helps us to prioritise our work,” he said.
“Overall, this app has been a net positive, but it does present a few challenges. Occasionally, some members of the public will complain that we have not addressed their issue promptly enough, but as I say, it certainly helps us to prioritise our long-term development plans,” he added.
The ministry issued an August 28 call on social media for people to report potholes immediately. The Road Care app made it very easy to do so, and would be of great help to ministry officials, it said.
Kim Pagna, country director of Asia Injury Prevention Foundation (AIP), said the creation of the app was a good thing. He thought the ministry should examine ways it could respond to people’s comments and more actively so that the public would see the importance of using the app.
He added that when they saw their contributions making positive changes, they would place more value on using the app.
In addition to addressing potholes, Pagna said that the ministry should disseminate the results of reports from the app so the public could see how effective the ministry’s responses were.
“To encourage more participation, I think the public works ministry should focus on the youth by training those from the Red Cross, young scouts and the Union of Youth Federations of Cambodia so they will understand how to use the app to make their voices heard,” he added.