The idea was proposed by Phuket Provincial Environment office Director Natawan Jumlongkat yesterday (June 4).
Mr Natawan met with officials from Nation Electronic and Computer Technology Center (Nectec), which developed the app and is now in use in Bangkok and other areas in the country (see here).
He also met with senior provincial officials, including Phuket Vice Governor Thawornwat Kongkaew, to explain the app and how it could be used in Phuket.
“The application helps officials in their work regarding several different types of complaints, including flooding, water supply, roads and traffic jams, the dumping of garbage, noise, foul smells, the cutting down of public trees and wild animals in local neighbourhoods, among other issues,” Mr Natawan said.
“However, people are not familiar with the app. They will have to download it and register to use it. Only registered users will be able to see the complaints filed and the progress by officials in dealing with them,” he explained.
Mr Natawan said that using the Traffy Fondue app was not aimed at circumventing the good work achieved via Phuket’s “Pineapple Eyes” community through their group on the Line online platform, which is open for all the public to see, rather than to complement it.
“It will work together with the Pineapple Eyes Line group, but our goal is to have people send complaints through this (Traffy Fondue) app because all of the information is directly reported to the director of each relevant government office in the area where the complaint is filed. People can do both if they want to,” Mr Natawan said.
Of note, Traffy Fondue already has presence and followers on Facebook (click here) and more than 150,000 followers on Twitter (click here), but no presence on the Line platform.
However, the idea of using the Traffy Fondue app was still in its early stages, Mr Natawan admitted, noting that many local government officials had yet to be made even aware of the app and learn how it is to be used.
Phuket has already led the way in public reporting via online platforms, with Nectec developing and launching its “Traffy Waste” app (click here), which was specifically developed to support Patong Municipality in coping with people dumping garbage on the streets there. (See The Phuket News page one story here.)
Traffy Fondue is available for download on Google Play, click here.
The Phuket News was unable to find the app for download on the Apple App Store.