Now you can Fill That Hole with an iPhone

iPhone toting cyclists now have a quick way of reporting potholes to local authorities – the new CTC Fill That Hole app.

The new app follows the appearance of the Fill That Hole website three years ago. It combines photography and GPS technology to pinpoint the exact location of a pothole – all in less than two minutes. Once a report is logged, the relevant local authority is informed.

CTC campaigner Chris Peck was injured after cycling over a pothole in 2008. He said, “Potholes are a serious concern for cyclists. We’ve had a number of members end up in hospital after riding over potholes and nearly 20% of cycling crashes amongst CTC members have been caused by road defects. We set up the Fill That Hole website as we want to make it easier for local authorities to find and fix potholes quickly, so fewer cyclists are hurt.”

There were 1.4 million potholes reported across England and Wales last year and an estimated £9.5billion is needed to bring the countries’ roads up to scratch, according to Alarm, the public risk management association.

The new apphas been designed to give power to the millions of road users who continue to damage their vehicles and suffer injury as a result of potholes. Fill That Hole also highlights which local authorities are the most responsive, with figure reporting, fix rates and league tables. 

The Fill That Hole app will work with iPhone models 3G, 3GS and 4, running Apple’s iOS version 3 or version 4. The app is available free from the Apple App store or search for Fill That Hole within the apps section of iTunes. An Android version is in the works, says CTC.

The app  was developed with funding and support from Aggregate Industries, earlier this year Sir Chris Hoy launched the company's campaign for better long term planning of road maintenance. Talking about the new app Tom Longland, CTC member and General Manager at Aggregate Industries said; “Potholes and general poor road maintenance continue to be major gripes of the British public and are areas requiring substantial further investment from the Government."