App aims to help drivers avoid potholes

A New Kensington man and his business partner are taking pothole matters into their own hands … or phones.

George Brian has partnered with City Bucket List, an app that helps people get around Pittsburgh while also highlighting attractions and places to eat and drink. He wants the app also to help folks avoid the region’s ubiquitous potholes.

His idea is to incorporate another section into the app that would mark potholes on a digital map and provide alternative routes to help drivers avoid them.

A driver for Uber and Lyft, Brian covers about 7,000 miles or more per month. He calls damage from the holes senseless.

The idea is similar to an app called Pothole Patrol, based in South Africa, and another called Road Bounce, a pothole warning app in India that incorporates AI and has a similar mission.

“If there is a precise location marked three or more times, people can know they are dangerous,” Brian said. “It is imperative that these holes are identified and repaired properly rather than just throwing a shovel of asphalt in it.”

For Brian, like others in the area, he is fed up with the potholes at the Pittsburgh Mills shopping center in Frazer. “They ding my car up every time,” he said.

As a ride-share driver, Brian has taken people around the Pittsburgh area for the past nine years. Sometimes he’s driving seniors to their destinations; other times, it’s people working late shifts; and sometimes it’s transporting excess food from restaurants to shelters.

While the app is still in its preliminary design stages, he believes it is necessary.

“So many things are related to potholes. There are social issues connected to them. … Employees at the mall are losing out on money because people don’t want to go there,” he said. “Leaders don’t really understand what is being dealt with day-to-day, and we have to do something to take control.”

Brian said many people in that area are stuck. There is no bus route, and ride-share drivers often do not want to travel those roads.

“It’s really about increasing compassion and consideration, and we have the ability to make a difference.” Brian said. “We’re trying to save people’s lives.”