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Pittsburgh and the Enviable iPhone App

By Marc Lostracco

19Aug09_iburgh.jpg
Sure, Torontonians are notorious for bitching about our city, but we bitch because we love! Complaining about garbage pickup or graffiti is a whole process, however, and sometimes it’s just not worth the time to bother hunting down the appropriate department by email or navigating a phone tree.
Pittsburghers also have a lot to complain about (insert your joke here), but they’ve got a connection with their local government that fills us with envy: a simple iPhone app that not only sends an alert on the spot, but can also forward geotagged photos of fresh potholes or shoddy snow removal to city servers, placing them right on a Google Map for “resolution and handling.” Developed by local mobile streaming company YinzCam, iBurgh went live on Monday and was donated to the city for free.
Pittsburgh city council member Bill Peduto claims that iBurgh is the first mobile application intended to link directly with city government, empowering residents to stay involved but in a way that’s uncomplicated and convenient. Bypassing the need for further manual data entry, the information is tied directly into Pittsburgh’s existing 311 system and disseminated automatically to officials. The data could also potentially identify problem areas over time and further streamline maintenance efforts.
Sure, there are lots of nefarious (and semi-pornographic) ways this system will undoubtedly be abused, but it generally is an idea that fills us with longing. We’re already huge fans of the Red Rocket app, and since Toronto is a city filled with both techies and iPhones, we see a perfect opportunity for some enterprising egghead to step up and code something similar.

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Comments

  • http://undefined dowlingm

    We better hope that someone does, because we can’t rely on the city bureaucrats. Coming up on four years after first being asked, there is still no Google Transit for Toronto, even as major city after major city goes live.
    Maybe the Star would collaborate on an iFixer app. Sadly as a Blackberry user I’m likely to be left in the cold irrespective of who does it.

  • http://undefined montauk

    Toronto is a city filled with both techies and iPhones
    Is there any data to substantiate this? I say this because I don’t know anyone who owns an iPhone or Blackberry – you are actually the first person I’ve known to wield one – yet various bloggers keep telling me that such devices are practically ubiquitous. It seems every assertion on the preponderance of these newfangled contraptions is anecdotal. Help an unenlightened reader out?

  • http://undefined scottd

    Pittsburgh is actually a very cool city miles ahead of Toronto in many ways.

  • rek

    I know at least three people with iPhones and two with Blackberries, and two more working on iPhone apps of their own.

  • http://undefined montauk

    I ASKED FOR DATA, REK. NOT ANOTHER ANECDOTE. MARC AND I HAVE ALREADY CONTRIBUTED OUR ANECDOTES. IF MARC AND I WANTED ANOTHER ANECDOTE WE WOULD HAVE ASKED FOR ONE. PLEASE GET YOUR HEAD IN THE GAME.
    PS> DID YOU COUNT HOW MANY OF YOUR FRIENDS DON’T OWN A BLACKBERRY OR IPHONE? NO. I DIDN’T THINK SO. IT’S THIS KIND OF SHODDY BRAINWORK THAT MAKES MARC AND I DOUBT YOU.

  • http://undefined Svend

    If I could easily complain to city hall about every pothole I encountered today then I’d be jumping the queue. Those with bigger problems but with only low tech access would become 2nd tier citizens.

  • http://undefined Daniel Contogiannis

    Man, I hate when commenters use all caps…
    This is a pretty sweet idea. There are enough iPhone users in Toronto to support this, and I don’t need a comprehensive study to tell me so.

  • http://www.bitpicture.com Marc Lostracco

    Well, the most concentrated customer base for iPhones is in Toronto, and not only did Rogers sell 355,000 smartphones in the spring quarter alone—most, which the company says, were iPhones—they also announced this week that they’ve sold out their entire Rogers/Fido iPhone stock nationally. So,yeah…a lot of people have iPhones.