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San Antonio, TX

San Antonio, Texas 311 Call Center, serves a population of 1.5 million people at all times. With 65,000 calls per month, the city saw an opportunity for improvement and efficiency, leading directly to savings in time and money. Implementing the Irys App (311SA Mobile App) has led to an increase in citizen engagement, improvement in citizen communication, and greater efficiency, accountability, and transparency.

Problem:

The City of San Antonio was looking into a solution to improve efficiency and service quality for citizens to report city problems without calling 311. By reducing the volume of calls, the city could lower the average call response time, making the process significantly more efficient. In addition to quality and efficiency improvements, San Antonio also needed the means to promote the 311 department and its call center and increase citizen engagement.

Solution:

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The City of San Antonio worked closely with Irys to customize and implement the Irys App (under the name 311SA) for iOS and Android devices. The Irys Mobile App allows citizens to interact with the city by submitting service requests for concerns that need attention while earning rewards and strengthening communities. City services available through the app include requests for pothole repair, graffiti removal, animal and property maintenance concerns, and many more.

The Irys Mobile App helps reduce inequalities by ensuring that users of all social and economic backgrounds have access to a tool that empowers users, giving them the ability to have a voice to improve City neighborhoods and make a difference in the community.

Results:

The 311SA mobile app, launched in San Antonio in August 2018, is creating a boost in civic participation. The 311SA app has gained 50,000 users, aged between 17-85, from every city region. Users have generated close to 120,000 city requests, ranging from sidewalk repairs, illegal dumping, animal neglect to ADA compliance or access to small business permits. The City of San Antonio has addressed 92% of all city requests received.

The use of the Irys App has enabled the City of San Antonio to identify and address more environmental issues and hazards, including illegal dumping, property maintenance, and junk vehicles, resulting in reduced waste and a cleaner and safer environment for all residents. Furthermore, enabling users to identify and report infrastructure and community issues through the app has reduced work crews’ need to use rolling trucks to locate issues, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption. Additionally, the Irys App’s adoption has allowed the City to shift towards using cleaner and environmentally sound technologies, eliminating paper trails, and increasing sustainability.

The Irys App has also provided the City of San Antonio with better planning and management capabilities by providing city leaders with crowdsourced data to support decision making processes and better meet the needs of the residents they serve.

Launch Date: August 2018 Total Users: 50,000 Total cases: 120,000 Total closed: 92% app md

"While there are many apps out there, the 311SA mobile app allows residents to collaborate with the City of San Antonio and their neighbors to solve problems ...Together, with a simple app, we can improve and strengthen our communities.

Ron Nirenberg,

City of San Antonio Mayor