Representatives of San Francisco’s 311 Customer Service Center announced updates to its free app, which now supports service requests in Chinese, Spanish and Filipino in addition to English.
Roughly 150,000 San Francisco residents have a limited proficiency of English, according to data the city received from the U.S. Census Bureau. The recent expansion of the SF311 app will serve over 80% of these residents.
The app now automatically detects the phone’s language and can switch its interface. IPhone users can manually change the language by clicking the three lines in the lefthand corner and some Android users can long-tap the app icon, said a service center representative.
On the phone, online or through the app, 311 receives roughly 800,000 service requests per year, according to Nancy Alfaro, a director of the 311 Customer Service Center.
“When people need help and they don’t know where to go, they usually will come to 311,” Alfaro said, noting that 311 already offers phone support in over 160 languages.
“We understand that navigating for city services isn’t always easy and it’s particularly difficult when English isn’t your first language,” she said.
Carson Chin, a deputy director at 311, said that over 80% of their service requests come through the website or app. In the last year, users downloaded the app 80% more times than the previous year, he said.
In an app demonstration, Chin uploaded a photograph of an abandoned trash bag on a curb, filed a service request and adjusted the bag’s location on a map. The app can read the geolocation of the picture, he said. In many cases, depending on the service request, the user can opt to include contact information or not. Overall, Chin explained, the app collects troubleshooting information and some data on the phone model.
Alaric Degrafinried from San Francisco Public Works said the photographs and service requests make up a “vital component to the work that we do and also, more importantly, to the city.”
His department, which he described as “on-the-ground,” sees more 311 service requests than any other. They address issues with sidewalks, potholes, graffiti, street cleaning and damaged trees.
According to the numbers he provided, Public Works receives requests more frequently than one every two minutes. Digital tickets, like those filed through the app, not only provide photographs of the issue but allow the user and department to track requests more easily.
“The things that don’t get measured don’t get better,” Degrafinried said at a press conference Thursday about the app updates.
Jorge Rivas, executive director at the city’s Office of Civic Engagement and Immigrant Affairs, said that 43% of San Franciscans over the age of 5 speak a language other than English at home.
“San Francisco is a city of immigrants,” he added. “Language should not be an obstacle to civic engagement, economic opportunities, or access to information and services.”
Screenshots from the updated SF311 app display the homepage in Chinese, Spanish and Filipino. The new updates aim to cater to service requests from San Franciscans with limited English proficiency. (Courtesy SF311)
Jose Ng expressed a similar opinion. He has lived in San Francisco for seven years after emigrating from Hong Kong. He spoke as a leader of the immigrant advocacy group Chinese for Affirmative Action.
“It’s not morally right to be turned away” from city services because of language issues, Ng said.
He expressed gratitude to city departments for expanding the 311 app’s language options, which he said speaks to San Francisco’s municipal culture. He said rather than see the need for language options as a barrier, 311 chose to see translated services “as an opportunity to improve, that they can serve the city better.”
Ng explained that Hong Kong has a bilingual society, and he considered it normal to see official signage in two languages. There, he also expected interpretation services at official meetings.
His group and a coalition of five others push for increased language access from the city. Earlier this year, they supported amendments to the city’s Language Access Ordinance, which sets a threshold of speakers after which city departments must provide services in-language. That threshold was 10,000 people, but has been reduced to 6,000.
“San Francisco is a city of immigrants. Language should not be an obstacle to civic engagement, economic opportunities, or access to information and services.”
Jorge Rivas, Office of Civic Engagement and Immigrant Affairs
The 311 app’s recent language expansions cover groups of more than 6,000 San Franciscan speakers who have low English proficiency. Alfaro said the new threshold, which goes into effect in 2026, did not affect their decision to offer more languages in the app. She said the change has been in process for over a year, and the upgrade comes after months of testing and user feedback.
“They wanted to make sure to get it right,” said Rivas.
He added that the threshold decrease “allows us to now think about new languages that can be certified in the future after 2026.”
Vietnamese and Russian speakers make up the next two largest groups.
The free 311 app is available on Apple and Android phones through app stores or online at sfgov.org/311.
