New QR code initiative to speed up process of providing feedback on municipal issues

SINGAPORE: The Municipal Services Office (MSO) has launched an initiative to simplify the way residents can report issues. 

Under the programme, called OneService Lite, QR codes can be scanned at places where residents frequent, such as HDB lift landings. They can then send their complaint through an online form, without having to download the OneService app, announced Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Grace Fu. 

“We are improving accessibility to services, by bringing our mainstay reporting function to where residents are,” said Ms Fu at the Ministry of National Development’s (MND) Committee of Supply debate on Wednesday (Mar 4).

Since February of this year, OneService Lite has been piloted at 20 blocks under the Aljunied-Hougang and Jurong-Clementi town councils, MSO said. 

It will subsequently be rolled out to neighbourhoods under the Choa Chu Kang, Holland-Bukit Panjang and Pasir Ris-Punggol town councils. 

Residents will soon be able to submit feedback via social messaging apps like Whatsapp and Telegram through an AI-powered chatbot as well. 

UPDATES TO ONESERVICE APP 

New features have been added to the OneService app, including a feature to aggregate residents’ opinions. 

On the What Say You? survey tool, residents can provide their views on a variety of topics related to their living environment.

Public agencies and town councils will collate and analyse the responses and trends to make decisions that are reflective of residents’ sentiments. 

This function has been piloted since mid-January with the likes of Jurong-Clementi Town Council and Choa Chu Kang Town Council to support their Neighbourhood Renewal Programmes and block painting efforts, MSO said.

Ms Fu said that this feature is part a strategy to “connect residents with each other to co-create a better living environment for all”. 

Residents will now also be able to book facilities such as function rooms, barbeque pits and sports facilities on the OneService app as well, said Ms Fu. 

GETTING THE PROBLEM FIXED 

Ms Fu said that the ministry is currently trialling Municipal 360, a productivity initiative that routes feedback submitted through the OneService app directly to the agencies’ contractors so that issues can be resolved faster. 

“Routine feedback submitted through the OneService app will be routed directly to agencies’ contractors for speedier resolution,” said Ms Fu. 

When cases are resolved, residents will receive photo of the work done from the municipal worker through the app. 

This initiative was rolled out in January with the National Environment Agency (NEA) and 16 town councils on board to gather feedback on cleanliness.

There will be new reporting categories, such as “smoking” and “high-rise littering” on the app so that residents can highlight specific concerns for investigation, Ms Fu added.

In general, nearly 60 per cent of OneService app cases have post poll ratings of four and five-star ratings, Ms Fu said. MSO target to raise this to 70 per cent by the end of the year.