Murphy calls for a hearing on Boston's new 311 system

When you report a pothole, a missed trash pickup or a car in a bike lane, it usually goes through 311. City Councilor Erin Murphy wants the City Council to look at how well the city's new 311 system is working.

Murphy filed an order for a hearing to review Boston's updated 311 system, service request management and accountability (docket 2045). It is on the agenda for the council's Wednesday, Oct. 28 meeting.

What's changing at 311

The city is replacing the system behind 311. Its project page says the full transformation is expected to be complete by the end of 2026. The city's open data portal now publishes requests from the new system as a separate dataset. Parking complaints were the top category of 311 calls, the Boston Globe reported in January.

What the order asks

The order says residents should be able to report a problem, get a case number, learn which department is responsible and get meaningful updates. It says closing a request "does not necessarily mean" the problem was fixed, and calls for clear standards for closing, reopening and consolidating cases. It asks about requests that involve several departments, so residents are not sent from office to office, and about access for seniors, people with disabilities, people with limited English and people without smartphones or reliable internet.

It also asks for public reporting on response times, overdue requests, repeat complaints and outcomes by department and neighborhood, and for the system's cost, rollout and staff training. It invites Boston 311, the Department of Innovation and Technology, Neighborhood Services, Public Works, Inspectional Services and the Transportation Department.

What our records show

The order cites two recent hearings, and our records show 311 coming up in others.

• Rats. The City Services Committee had a hearing scheduled Oct. 23 on the status of the city's rodent action plan (docket 1804).
• Blocked bike lanes and crosswalks. The Planning, Development and Transportation Committee held a hearing Oct. 22 on enforcement (docket 1543); see our story.
• Closed but not fixed. At an Oct. 15 Government Operations hearing on an ordinance about potholes on private ways (docket 0807), a city official explained that when a 311 complaint involves a private way, the city tells the resident that repairs are the abutters' responsibility and closes the case, fixing it only if it is deemed necessary for public safety (watch at 29:45). That is the kind of case closure Murphy's order asks about.
• Unanswered council requests. Murphy also passed an order on Oct. 21 asking the administration to answer overdue requests for information under Section 17F (our story).

Murphy is the only sponsor listed so far.

What's next

The order is expected to be referred to a committee on Wednesday. A hearing date, when set, will be posted on the city's public notices page. In the meantime, residents can still file requests by calling 311 or through the city's app and website.