Winnipeg's 311 introduces new menu options for callers

The next time Winnipeggers need to call 311 to report a dog on the loose or brown water, they'll hear a new selection of menu options.

• Winnipeg's 311 call centres to tackle telephone wait times

The City of Winnipeg has changed the way it delivers 311 telephone service. Instead of reaching a generic 311 operator, the City now offers five menu options to streamline callers.

New menu options at 311:

1. Water or sewer inquiries.
2. Assessment and tax questions.
3. Animal services requests.
4. TeleBUS schedule information.
5. All other city services.

"We wanted to improve [and]provide better service to our residents," said Rica Mangahas, manager of Winnipeg's311 call centre.

By choosing from different menu options, residents will be connected to call-takers who have specialized knowledge related to their inquiries, she said.

"We are hoping these changes will decrease our wait times and provide more accurate and efficient information to the public," said Mangahas.

One of the new311 menu options is simply a direct connection to the city's automated transitinformation line, TeleBUS.

Last year the city spent$1.4 million on calls to 311 about busschedules. While available online and through the TeleBUS service, calls related to bus times are stillthe most frequent type of calls to 311.

311 wait times have increasedsubstantially inrecent years.In 2010, the average time it took 311 operators to answer calls was one minute, 21 seconds; in 2015, that wait time grew to two minutes, 56 seconds.