Discovery and Dialdirect's Pothole Patrol team (L) Hector Nkambule and Jan Makwela fix a pothole along 4th De Laan and 4th Avenue at Parktown North in Johannesburg, 7 June 2022. City of Johannesburg, Dialdirect Insurance and Discovery Insurance decided to partner up and fix the potholes in the city. Picture: Nigel Sibanda
Joburg residents have applauded the turnaround time for reporting potholes on the Pothole Patrol app, as the partnership between the City of Joburg (CoJ), Discovery Insure and Dialdirect Insurance has seen more than 100 000 potholes repaired since its launch in May 2021.
Motorist Patrick Dunseith of Parktown North said he was surprised to see the patrollers fixing a pothole a week after he reported it, which proved how effective the initiative was.
“I am still in awe of how quick they responded to the report of a pothole around the area, and I just want to say thank you, it’s a fantastic service,” he said.
Another resident Dale Hiffer said she was excited to see that someone was “taking action” around fixing the potholes in the area after years of seeing residents struggle.
The Pothole Patrol launched an app in October 2021 to simplify the reporting process for Joburg residents, which accelerated the programme’s output.
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Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula told parliament yesterday his department was developing a policy proposal which will allow more private companies to fix potholes in SA, following the successful partnership to launch the Pothole Patrol initiative.
Meanwhile, Discovery Insure CEO Anton Ossip said the introduction of The Pothole Patrol has paid dividends.
“In March we announced that the benefits of this initiative are evident in Discovery Insure data which shows a 26% reduction in pothole-related claims in Johannesburg, compared to an increase of 45% across the rest of Gauteng,” he said.
“The Pothole Patrol continues to receive an influx of reports via our app. Unfortunately, we have noted repeated damage reports for certain areas, and this is often caused by underlying water damage.”
However, head of Dialdirect Anneli Retief said while the unprecedented wet weather unfortunately exacerbated the already dire pothole situation in Joburg – and an unexpected bitumen shortage – has caused a few delays.
“We’ve managed to exceed our mandated repair target by 25%, month-on-month. We have also increased our repair fleet and employed additional resources to help manage the increased number of reports,” Retief said.
– reitumetsem@citizen.co.za
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