New Functionalities to the “Citizens” Mobile App
The mobile application “Citizens” (Grajdanite) that allows reporting to institutions is with an updated interface and new functionalities. The application was launched in 2015 and Sofia Municipality is a partner in the development of the platform, through which more than 82 000 alerts have been submitted to state institutions by 62 000 citizens, not only from Sofia but also from all over Bulgaria.
The application turns into a new back-end platform with the following additional options for citizens:
- All surrounding alerts submitted in the area where the user is located can be seen on the map, after the user had specified his or her address. Filters that can help citizens to see only those types of alerts or institutions they need to see in a particular situation are also available.
- More categories of alerts can be submitted, compared to what the previous version of the app allowed
- Users are able to see which other citizens have supported their alert
- The iOS version allows notifications of electricity/water outages, street closures, events, etc., provided that the user has agreed to set their address
- On Apple devices, the platform automatically captures the location, time and date of the image made and uploaded to the alert through the platform
- Option to mass support alerts, turning them into collective alerts
- Notifications from institutions are received on all devices, on a user-specified e-mail
The new application’s options for institutions:
All innovations in the platform also apply to access by institutions, but there is also a specific innovation related to the access of the administration, as requested by the institutions themselves. A module for sending notifications of power/ water outages, street closures, etc. is opened. Thus, for the first time, institutions will also be able to inform citizens about planned activities in a certain residential district or area via the “Citizens” application.
