Pittsburgh Launches 311 System

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Oct 24, 2006, News Report

Found in: E-Government / Serving the Citizen

Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl this morning launched the Ravenstahl Response Line -- 311, a central one call system for all non-emergency city service requests.

Beginning today, City of Pittsburgh residents can access city services more quickly and easily than ever before. All services -- from obtaining a phone number for a city department, to reporting a pothole or broken street light -- are now just three numbers away. Residents will reach a service representative from the Ravenstahl Response Center when they dial the 3-1-1 from anywhere in the city. There is also a 311 Form on the City of Pittsburgh Web site where questions and concerns can be submitted.

"Through 311, we're making government more customer focused, friendly and easier to use," said Ravenstahl. "The Ravenstahl Response line is all about better customer service and one call resolution. It's as easy as 311. It's a benefit for the residents and employees of the city."

"Our friendly and courteous staff will take the information and enter it into our database, where it will be directed to the proper department," said Wendy Urbanic, Response Center coordinator. "Service requests should be acknowledged by the department within 24 hours."

"The 311 system allows for increased efficiency -- city departments can spend more time doing the work and less time answering phones," said Ravenstahl. "It is also a great way to track accountability within the departments. The database will enable us to see how quickly requests are resolved and gives the city better tracking capability."

The Mayor also unveiled a new billboard that will be up throughout the city to make residents more aware of the service, and they will also soon be receiving a postcard in the mail announcing the Response Line with Frequently Asked Questions on the flip side, further explaining 311, when to use it and hours of operation.

Said Ravenstahl, "Think of it this way: Burning building? Call 911. Burning question? Call 311."

Comments

By Anonymous on Oct 25, 2006

Thinking the public will confuse 311 and 911 is a very parochial perspective. This mistake was made in Delaware where the State Fire Union passed legislation to ban 311. If you look at cities like New York you will see that 311 has had amazing benefits to the public and to the 911 system Since 311 was started, 911 call volume dropped by nearly 1 million calls - after increasing every year for 16 years. In emergencies 311 has been a condiut to share information with the public - again freeing up valuable 911 resources. It is a simple campaing to differentiate between 311 and 911 - lets not let narow minded perspectives get in the way of a great service

By Thomas A. Dolan on Oct 25, 2006

The 3-1-1 system appears to be a good thing to have to lessen the loads on 9-1-1. However, there is going to have to be a massive education of the public and especially children. A concern of whether the public will be able to keep the two numbers seperate. Also, if the 3-1-1 should end up at a busy line or even worse a recorded line what would the consequense be it an emergency call did not get answered or go through? The 3-1-1 probably should not be publizied and promoted in the same way or related to the urgency of 9-1-1. The state of Connecticut uses a 2-1-1 line for information state wide. It has abilities to connect many types of departments and lead callers to departments of interest to answer questions or get informaton. It is promoted as an INFO line and no way gives the appearance of an emergency line. The INFO line system is a great system and works very well.. A consideraton should be given to use a system nation wide with the same number to accomplish the same thing. With the mobile society of today people have a need for the same common communication numbers no matter what state they are in. We need to eliminate or avoid confussion. I am definitely against anything that dilutes or takes away from the value of the 9-1-1 system.