Fixvegas

[Dai]

After nicely destroying 2 tubes + tyres and putting a nice flat spot in my front wheel two weeks ago due to a fairly nasty long and narrow pothole on the Brisbane Corso. I decided to try out the FixVegas app on my phone. It lets you take a photo and send a report of maintenance issues to Brisbane City Council. I'd seen a few other people hit it doing riverloops in the morning and figured it really needed sorting.

Last weekend I stopped and took a picture and sent it to council with the information on the location of the hole and on Thursday got a call from a guy at BCC saying they would have some people out to repair it today. I drove past at lunchtime and it was nicely patched up. So if you do see something out there that looks like it needs attention, based on that experience FixVegas is worth a shot, although I think it's iPhone only. Even still, it's definitely worth calling the council as they do seem genuinely interested in sorting out these sorts of things, especially if it's causing a hazard.

[Rhubarb]

Sent 2 "fixes" in yesterday actually. First time I've used FixVegas but I've reported issues via their call centre and website previously. Fv actually just uploads to their website I understand.

Generally speaking I find bcc to be pretty responsive with this stuff.

[Comedian]

If it's an easy fix I've found them responsive and this app is an easy way of reporting it without spending time on the phone.

However I reports the washed out bike bridge near my place that's been out since the floods. I hit send in early May (I thought that was a fair time for them to do something) and I haven't heard back from them - and I'm still riding through an industrial estate to work..

[Rhubarb]

I can understand a bridge washout taking time to fix as it needs capital funding which needs budget planning etc. It's not really good enough to simply ignore the report though. You should have gotten a confirmation of receipt, ideally a reference number for future correspondence, and some of guidance around what to expect even if it's only "thanks for your report, we're struggling to prioritize a mountain of damage without raising your rates too much, and the approved program of works for 2011/12 won't be finalized until xxx".

[Max]

I tried using FV once, and it just wouldn't accept my contact details. So I never got to send the report to the BCC using the app.

Max

[lethoso]

there's also a website you can use, if you're not an iphone owner:

https://obonline.ourbrisbane.com/servic ... ixogram.do

I whinged about debris on a bike path a little while ago, they had a sweeper out the next day

[Comedian]

I can understand a bridge washout taking time to fix as it needs capital funding which needs budget planning etc. It's not really good enough to simply ignore the report though. You should have gotten a confirmation of receipt, ideally a reference number for future correspondence, and some of guidance around what to expect even if it's only "thanks for your report, we're struggling to prioritize a mountain of damage without raising your rates too much, and the approved program of works for 2011/12 won't be finalized until xxx".

All I asked for was an estimate too. Oh well.

[Dai]

I can understand a bridge washout taking time to fix as it needs capital funding which needs budget planning etc. It's not really good enough to simply ignore the report though. You should have gotten a confirmation of receipt, ideally a reference number for future correspondence, and some of guidance around what to expect even if it's only "thanks for your report, we're struggling to prioritize a mountain of damage without raising your rates too much, and the approved program of works for 2011/12 won't be finalized until xxx".

I was tempted to take a photo of the washed out bridge on the Corso as well and see if I could get them to fix that

Actually, the app didn't seem to want to work when I was out there and took the photo, but it did save the information and it let me resend it once I was back home and connected to wifi. Also even though I sent the information on the location to them, the guys at BCC didn't seem to have gotten it, so I'm not sure if that part of it actually works. Still ,it's a nice idea and beats waiting to speak to someone in a call centre, which I probably normally wouldn't do (mind you the cost of the new tyres and wheel repair might have inspired me this time). It was a nasty pothole too, hidden in the dark by an overhanging tree and just as you come over a rise so you don't see it until too late. I'm gonna chalk that one up to riding too fast for the conditions