Potholes are the bane of all South African road users. They are tyre and people killers and it thus comes as good news that the Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport’s pothole App – PotholeFixGP – is gaining momentum with reports indicating that motorists and truckers are increasingly using the tool to report poor road conditions and non-functioning traffic lights in the province.

According to a statement issued by the Department, since its launch in 2022, over 38 790 potholes have been repaired by the Department’s regional maintenance teams. Close to 4 000 potholes have been reported along provincial roads via the App with 2 814 of these already repaired, representing a 72% repair rate.

The rest of the potholes are identified and attended to by maintenance teams. This also excludes over 200 potholes located on provincial roads which are scheduled for full rehabilitation.

As of May 2025, the App has seen strong public engagement, with 15 701 downloads (Android) and 3 430 on iOS to date.

The App consists of two interfaces: a mobile App, available for iOS and Android devices that allows members of the public to report potholes and non-functioning traffic signals; as well as a web application dashboard for the Department. When reporting a road maintenance issue through the mobile App, real-time data is transmitted, enabling the Department to efficiently allocate resources, monitor reported cases and initiate repairs.

It was developed to streamline and digitise reporting of road infrastructure maintenance issues, including potholes and traffic signal failures, in the province.

Initially developed to report potholes on Gauteng roads, it has been expanded to include reporting of non-functioning traffic signals. It further enables the Department to track and monitor progress on addressing reported issues, while providing updates.

PotholeFixGP uses geographic information system technology, allowing it to pinpoint the exact location of reported maintenance issues and allocate the issue to the correct road authority for repair and maintenance.

Below is the breakdown of maintenance work by regional teams:

• Krugersdorp (Greater Johannesburg): had 2 181 potholes reported, with 1 710 repaired.
• Benoni (City of Ekurhuleni): 430 reported, 288 repaired.
• Derdepoort (Tshwane): 763 reported, 375 repaired. The region has the highest number of potholes on provincial roads on or scheduled for full rehabilitation (177).
• Vereeniging (Sedibeng): 495 reported with 423 repaired.
• Bronkhorstspruit (Tshwane): 57 potholes reported, 18 repaired.

In its efforts to improve road conditions, address community and motorists’ concerns promptly and leverage technology for better service delivery, the Department has urged all road users to download the App (PotholeFixGP) and use it to report any potholes or non-functioning robots.

What is needed here is collaboration and while we often criticise – rightly so – Government departments for the lack of service delivery, the Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport is being innovative on this so let’s collaborate. In this spirit, we encourage all truckers to get their drivers to download and use the App. Courier companies could really play a big role here as, with the surge in on-line shopping, their vehicles are all over the suburbs and highways. FleetWatch is certainly going to try it out. We’ll let you know how it works out.