Fill that hole

[Winged wheels]

Used the Fill That Hole online reporting for the first time today. Not a patch on the old app. Many more steps to complete. Not sure if I’ll be reporting many more. I used to report a pot hole most days.

[mattheus]

Used the Fill That Hole online reporting for the first time today. Not a patch on the old app. Many more steps to complete. Not sure if I’ll be reporting many more. I used to report a pot hole most days.

I've only used fixmystreet recently. Have you tried that? (it may be better OR worse, I don't know!)

I didn't find it too painful - and my commute route has about a billion reports, so it's quite popular :-/

[Psamathe]

:|
Used the Fill That Hole online reporting for the first time today. Not a patch on the old app. Many more steps to complete. Not sure if I’ll be reporting many more. I used to report a pot hole most days.

I've only used fixmystreet recently. Have you tried that? (it may be better OR worse, I don't know!)

I didn't find it too painful - and my commute route has about a billion reports, so it's quite popular :-/

I also used FixMyStreet but it isn't good when in no mobile coverage so it's some time since I reported any potholes.

Also I have no idea if Norfolk actually add reports through 3rd parties to their database. Whenever I reported one through FixMyStreet I'd get a couple of e-mails from Norfolk County Council, one would ask me to use their online web reporting, others suggested they are acting on the report (or at least recording it). Given the numbers of potholes I used to report and that I'd get several from Norfolk CC for each report I redirected their e-mails to "Discard" (intelligently, based on sender with specific subject line content).

Ian

[AndyK]

Used the Fill That Hole online reporting for the first time today. Not a patch on the old app. Many more steps to complete. Not sure if I’ll be reporting many more. I used to report a pot hole most days.

I've only used fixmystreet recently. Have you tried that? (it may be better OR worse, I don't know!)

I didn't find it too painful - and my commute route has about a billion reports, so it's quite popular :-/

The new FillThatHole is FixMyStreet, with a different look overlaid on it. So the experience will be very, very similar.

[Psamathe]

:|
Used the Fill That Hole online reporting for the first time today. Not a patch on the old app. Many more steps to complete. Not sure if I’ll be reporting many more. I used to report a pot hole most days.

I've only used fixmystreet recently. Have you tried that? (it may be better OR worse, I don't know!)

I didn't find it too painful - and my commute route has about a billion reports, so it's quite popular :-/

The new FillThatHole is FixMyStreet, with a different look overlaid on it. So the experience will be very, very similar.

FixMyStreet has a mobile app. When I registered it didn't ask for all sorts of stuff like what injury you suffered, nor property damage suffered, etc. but then "in partnership" with a company of solicitors - no accusations of CUK sponsored "ambulance chasing" from me.

Ian

[Winged wheels]

Quite, gone corporate services

[Winged wheels]

Any idea what was wrong with the old app? Worked fine for years. Great for the cycle commute and cycle touring. In the old system you could view to see if the potholes you reported after damaging your bike or self had been previously reported thus your situation was reasonably foreseeable.
BRING BACK!

[Winged wheels]

Got the App Fix my Street, less hoops than the Cycling UK version. New go to
Thank you my two wheel friends.
Ride safe

[AndyK]

I've only used fixmystreet recently. Have you tried that? (it may be better OR worse, I don't know!)

I didn't find it too painful - and my commute route has about a billion reports, so it's quite popular :-/

The new FillThatHole is FixMyStreet, with a different look overlaid on it. So the experience will be very, very similar.

FixMyStreet has a mobile app. When I registered it didn't ask for all sorts of stuff like what injury you suffered, nor property damage suffered, etc. but then "in partnership" with a company of solicitors - no accusations of CUK sponsored "ambulance chasing" from me.

Ian

Perhaps you missed the bit where it said, "Please answer these questions to help Cycling UK with our campaigning work"?

From the About page:

Why has Cycling UK relaunched Fill That Hole?
The old versions of the Fill That Hole site and app were becoming increasingly out of date, as well as growing incompatible with council reporting systems.

The new version of the service is powered by FixMyStreet Pro, which is developed by SocietyWorks, the wholly owned subsidiary of the charity mySociety, which runs the national FixMyStreet service.

We chose FixMyStreet Pro because as well as being capable of triaging reports to different councils and public bodies on a national level, the service is built as a progressive web app (PWA). This means you have the choice to use this service on whatever device you want (no obligation to download an app), and ensures that you always benefit from the same user experience, including having access to offline reporting functionality. It also means that we can introduce new features and updates more quickly, whilst only having to support one codebase.

Why should I use Fill That Hole?
At Fill That Hole, we monitor how many reports are made by different modes of transport, and whether any damage or injury was suffered due to a pothole.

This helps us highlight that potholes are more than a nuisance, and that they pose serious risks to people cycling, helping Cycling UK campaign to secure safer and better maintained roads.

Whether you’re driving, walking, or cycling when you spot or hit a pothole, using Fill That Hole helps create a better world by bike and a better roads network for everyone.

[mjr]

Has someone merged two threads again and set off the bug? My own posts appeared as unread.

[Jdsk]

...
I can't find any trace of the app for iPhone/Apple (not checked for Android). These reporting system only really work with a mobile app so you can record & report whilst standing at the hazard. Remember what, where, etc. for multiple hazards so you can spend longer once home scrolling round maps to find the position, etc. ... isn't going to happen.

The strength of the old app was it could record a hazard when offline out of mobile coverage. Most people with any privacy considerations stop their web browser accessing their location so the web site idea means it only works when you have mobile coverage (so a lot of my cycling - wont work) and with weakened privacy
...

I'm going to do some experiments. But couldn't this work by recording the position by GPS even without real-time data network access?

It could ... but then when you get home you have to search on their web site for your GPS location and re-enter everything a 2nd time, repeat again and again for each pothole. Their website does not accept Lat/Long but wants a postcode, street name with area. For Location Services you have to do it all from their web site using your current location (ie with a data connection standing at the hazard).

Whereas the old app: standing by pothole, from app take photo, select hazard from list and it's done. If no coverage it will submit the report automatically once you get a data connection (once in coverage or in Wi-Fi).

CUK really have not thought this through - hence my suggestion it's all about a Press Release than actually trying to help cyclists.

As above I'll do the experiment, but I can't at the moment.

Has anyone else tried the new website on a mobile 'phone with the data connection turned off so that we can establish what you have to do when you're by the hole and then when you later connect?

Thanks

Jonathan

[Psamathe]

I'm going to do some experiments. But couldn't this work by recording the position by GPS even without real-time data network access?

It could ... but then when you get home you have to search on their web site for your GPS location and re-enter everything a 2nd time, repeat again and again for each pothole. Their website does not accept Lat/Long but wants a postcode, street name with area. For Location Services you have to do it all from their web site using your current location (ie with a data connection standing at the hazard).

Whereas the old app: standing by pothole, from app take photo, select hazard from list and it's done. If no coverage it will submit the report automatically once you get a data connection (once in coverage or in Wi-Fi).

CUK really have not thought this through - hence my suggestion it's all about a Press Release than actually trying to help cyclists.

As above I'll do the experiment, but I can't at the moment.

Has anyone else tried the new website on a mobile 'phone with the data connection turned off so that we can establish what you have to do when you're by the hole and then when you later connect?

Thanks

Jonathan

Can you browse to website with no data connection? For me browsing needs to get to the internet servers to download the web page.

Ian

[AndyK]

Install it before you go out.
Instructions here:

https://www.fillthathole.org.uk/about/web-app

It should then be usable onsite without a network. I'm guessing the report is stored on the phone then uploaded when you're next connected to a network, but it'll be interesting to see.

My assumption is that the progressive web app will be cheaper and easier to maintain, as the same codebase will work on Android, iPhone or any web browser. And it'll be MySociety doing the maintenance, it's what they do, and they're good at it. And apparently progressive web apps generally take up less space than a "native" iOS or Android app.

[mattheus]

PURELY in the interests of balance ... ...
can I mention that the desktop version (FixMyStreet, anyway) works very simply, I think you can even report as "Guest". I never bother posting a photo (I'm commuting in the dark anyway!), so there's only the disadvantage of having to remember the location until you get to a PC.

[Psamathe]

Install it before you go out.
Instructions here:

https://www.fillthathole.org.uk/about/web-app

It should then be usable onsite without a network. I'm guessing the report is stored on the phone then uploaded when you're next connected to a network, but it'll be interesting to see.

My assumption is that the progressive web app will be cheaper and easier to maintain, as the same codebase will work on Android, iPhone or any web browser. And it'll be MySociety doing the maintenance, it's what they do, and they're good at it. And apparently progressive web apps generally take up less space than a "native" iOS or Android app.

I can't see means to give it Location Services permissions without granting such access to everything in Safari (all those web sites, 3rd party objects, etc. you don't want to give permission to.

So if it's just FixMyStreet why not use the FixMyStreet app - which you can give Location Services permissions to (without it being Safari wide), can report as Guest, etc. Why spend limited CUK resources providing a different UI to a system (with dedicated app) in effect cloning a perfectly good/superior system?

Ian