Pothole Challenge - City of Mumbai
Overview:
As a key committee member in a team of three, we co-designed and implemented a city-wide initiative aimed at accelerating and streamlining the timely repair of potholes and surface damages across Mumbai's roads. The project was created in response to severe road deterioration caused by heavy and prolonged rainfall, which, coupled with limited administrative capacity, increased vehicle accidents and citizen dissatisfaction. Leveraging a human-centered design approach, the initiative emphasized understanding citizens' frustrations, identifying bottlenecks, and unifying all stakeholders onto a singular, transparent platform to deliver solutions within a 24-hour turnaround.
Role & Responsibilities:
Human-Centered Process Design
Conducted detailed user journey mapping, pinpointing pain points and opportunities from the citizen’s complaint registration to pothole resolution.
Co-created a streamlined grievance redressal system that simplified reporting, reduced response time, and enhanced transparency.
Program Management & Communication
Managed daily operations, collaborated closely with municipal officers, road contractors, and traffic police to guarantee efficient execution.
Communicated progress proactively to the public through social media content and periodic press releases, maintaining transparency and public trust.
Monitoring & Data Analytics
Established internal monitoring mechanisms through real-time data analytics, ensuring consistent performance, quick identification of lags, and targeted intervention.
Capacity Building & Stakeholder Training
Created a comprehensive training manual and conducted training sessions for all key stakeholders—road contractors, traffic police, and municipal staff—to ensure clarity of roles, responsibilities, and performance expectations.
Fostered a shared commitment among diverse stakeholders by aligning incentives and clearly defining success metrics.
Impact:
Successfully resolved approximately 91% (1,406 potholes) of reported potholes within the stipulated 24-hour window, significantly improving public safety and satisfaction.
Generated substantial public engagement, with approximately 140,000 Twitter impressions highlighting community awareness, involvement, and appreciation.
Inspired replication of the program by two additional municipalities, underscoring the initiative’s scalability, effectiveness, and applicability beyond Mumbai.
Map of Mumbai City, exhibiting Resolved vs. Unresolved potholes
