Ather Energy, the electric scooter company, recently rolled out a feature in its Stack 7 software called Pothole Alert. It uses data from its network of scooters (and helmets) to warn riders of rough road patches ahead. It even includes navigation that tries to suggest paths with fewer potholes, and audio/visible alerts via helmet or dashboard.
On the surface, it looks like innovation; using real-time data to improve safety. But there’s a twist. Instead of fixing the root problem, the bad roads, the tech amplifies awareness of failure. Riders see potholes, get warned, maybe avoid them, but roads remain neglected.
Governance Failures That Tech Can’t Mask
Bengaluru’s road infrastructure has been under increasing criticism. In many cases:
- Pothole patches are shoddily repaired or reappear soon.
- Business owners complain about how badly roads affect productivity. For example, BlackBuck cited dangerous road conditions as reason to relocate an office near Bengaluru’s Outer Ring Road.
- Citizens, startups, and media have normalised complaining about potholed roads, so much that new features moderately elevate awareness but also act as a tacit acceptance. Complaints become memes. Features become milestones. The conversation shifts from accountability to aesthetic tech responses.
Why “Fixing with Features” Is Dangerous
When governance failure becomes something to be “solved by user-side tech,” a few problems follow:
- Diluted responsibility: If companies warn you about failure, governments/no civic bodies feel less pressure to repair or maintain properly.
- Unequal burden: People who can afford premium EVs or tech-features benefit more; others still face risk without warnings or buffer.
- Festival of “innovative features” that don’t improve actual infrastructure. The patchwork solutions may reduce complaints, but not accidents, road damage, or long-term decay.
Fixing the Root Problem
- Civic institutions need better enforcement. If a feature flags a pothole, there needs to be accountability to fix it, not just warn users.
- Startups should use their data not just to alert users but to push for government action, data should feed into municipal decisions.
- Regulators or public bodies could enforce repair standards, with mandated timelines once citizen crowdsourced data flags something.
- Awareness must include demand for repair, not just acceptance of warnings. The emphasis should shift from “look at this cool tech” to “why are roads still in terrible condition?”
Holding Systems Responsible
Although Ather’s Pothole Alert is a useful tool, it shouldn’t be seen as a celebration of governance failure. Civic duty cannot be replaced by technology. The roads still need to be repaired, even though it helps riders avoid challenging spots. If not, the ecology will embrace traits that normalise failure instead of overcoming it.
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