Durham Region launches first-of-its-kind smart home voice service in Canada

Whitby, Ontario – We’ve committed to improving the customer experience. We’ve highlighted our desire to make information more accessible. Now, we’re making it even easier to find details about Regional programs and services—just ask Google or Alexa. 

In partnership with Qwhery, Durham Region is officially the first regional municipality in Canada to bring Regional services to smart home devices—thanks to the myDurham 311 Smart Home Device Voice Service. It’s a tool designed to help customers access information, and frequently asked questions, through smart home devices.

Now it’s easy to find out about elected officials, Regional facilities, waste pick up, the nearest bus stop, and even when to expect the next Durham Region Transit bus. Interested in finding out more? The myDurham 311 voice service is available through the Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa Marketplace. If using Google just say, “Hey Google, talk to myDurham 311" or if using Alexa, enable the service in the Alexa app settings and then say “Alexa, open myDurham 311."

The myDurham 311 Voice Service showcases how Durham Region is focused on improving the customer experience through an omnichannel approach. It’s a co-ordinated system that will help ensure Regional services are accessible via a variety of methods, including in-person, web, emails, phone calls, social media, and more.

How did we get here? This spring, Durham Region worked in partnership with the Ontario Centre of Innovation and Spark Centre to challenge small and medium-sized enterprises to help make Regional services more accessible to the public. The successful company, Qwhery, has helped us develop an excellent product that will put Durham Region in a position to provide the best customer experience for our residents.

Quotes

“Durham Region is a forward-thinking organization; focused on innovation and modernization. This service is the first step in our transformation towards a customer-centric approach. Because true customer engagement begins by offering access to services at a time that works for the individual, rather than the corporation.”

Elaine Baxter-Trahair, Chief Administrative Officer, Durham Region

“The Region of Durham is a smart municipality. As part of our omnichannel strategy, we are delivering municipal services through smart home devices. We are proud to be one of the first municipalities to be introducing this technology, as it will give our residents an additional communication platform that they can use at any time of the day. The project is currently being piloted, and more services will be added over time. This is the just the beginning, and a great example of how we’re enhancing our service delivery platforms.”

Kalyan Chakravarthy, Chief Information Officer, Durham Region

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