SAN ANTONIO – The City of San Antonio celebrated its non-emergency information call center with “311 Day” on Saturday.
City customer service agents have responded to thousands of help requests and reported problems since the app’s launch 23 years ago.
Now, city leaders are planning to add a new internet feature to the app, which is designed to make navigating city services and operations easier.
The call center is open seven days a week, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and has 45 call takers. They average about 3,000 to 3,200 calls a week — that’s about 800,000 calls a year.
Call center director Paula Stallcup said residents and visitors call most of the time to request services or report a problem.
“People call us for solid waste services, maybe they are calling us to find out what they can put in different containers. They are calling us about potholes or other street concerns. They are calling us about any animal care concerns that some individuals may have,” Stallcup said.
The app’s newest feature will have a built-in virtual assistant, similar to the iPhone’s “Siri.”
Although there is no word yet on the official launch date, city leaders are expecting it to be ready before the end of the year.
For now, Stallcup said, “311 is here to help the community in whatever services or information that you need.”
To learn more about 311, click here.