The City of Mobile has launched a new smart texting service to help Mobilians quickly get important information about city events, projects and services on their mobile phones.
TextMyGov uses a phone’s regular SMS messaging features to relay information to the city and provide updates on city events, projects and services to residents. TextMyGov can answer many questions 24 hours a day and make it easier to submit requests to the City of Mobile.
“This service will not only be vital when communicating with our constituents, it will also provide citizens an opportunity to ask questions and get answers directly on their cell phones,” Council President C.J. Small said for a news release. Using smart texting technology, TextMyGov can recognize keywords and provide Mobilians with information about the service, department or event they need to know more about, according to the news release. For instance, someone with a question about trash collection could text “trash” and be immediately connected to information about trash collection routes, schedules and rules from the City of Mobile’s website.
“We want to make it as easy as possible for Mobilians to get the information they need and keep track of things impacting their neighborhoods and businesses,” Mayor Sandy Stimpson said for the release. “We have some major initiatives underway right now, and text updates are a simple and straightforward way to stay up to date on them.”
The City of Mobile officially launched TextMyGov this week. Anyone can get started by texting “Hi” to 220-2122. As we receive input from Mobilians, we’ll be working to make adjustments that will help the system answer questions more efficiently. We have also already created several lists for specific notifications.