Here are some of the best questions for a citizen survey about road maintenance, plus actionable tips for crafting them. We at Specific know how important it is to ask the right things—our AI can help you build impactful road maintenance surveys in seconds.
Best open-ended questions for citizen survey about road maintenance
Open-ended questions unlock genuine, detailed responses—great for understanding what really matters to citizens. By avoiding yes/no prompts, we gain deeper context and hear stories that shape real change. Use open-ended questions when you want authentic feedback or to uncover nuanced issues beneath surface satisfaction levels.
Recent surveys show how vital this is: in the UK, 82% of citizens reported dissatisfaction with road maintenance, making it the lowest-rated public service [1]. Clearly, there’s a lot to learn from these direct, detailed opinions.
What is your overall impression of the condition of roads in your area?
Can you describe the biggest issue you’ve noticed with road maintenance near you?
How does poor road maintenance impact your daily commute or routines?
If you’ve recently reported a road issue, what was your experience with the council’s response?
What do you think causes delays in addressing road repairs in your community?
Can you share a specific example of how road conditions affected you or someone you know?
Which improvements would make the biggest difference to road maintenance locally?
How safe do you feel as a pedestrian or cyclist because of existing road conditions?
What advice would you give the council for improving road maintenance?
Are there any areas in your neighborhood you feel are being neglected when it comes to road repairs?
Best single-select multiple-choice questions for citizen survey about road maintenance
Sometimes, it’s easier for respondents to pick from a list—that’s where single-select multiple-choice questions shine. They’re perfect when we want to quantify issues, identify trends, or get people talking without overwhelming them. For example, start with a quick choice and then follow up with a deeper, open-ended prompt.
Question: How would you rate the current state of road maintenance in your area?
Very Satisfied
Satisfied
Dissatisfied
Very Dissatisfied
Question: What type of road issues do you encounter most frequently?
Potholes
Poor signage
Frequent flooding
Uneven surfaces
Other
Question: How quickly are reported road maintenance issues resolved in your experience?
Within 24 hours
Within a week
Within a month
More than a month
When to follow up with "why?" Whenever a citizen selects a rating or category, follow it with “Why did you choose that?” Even a quick “why?” draws out crucial detail, transforming flat answers into meaningful stories that clarify root causes and real experiences.
When and why to add the "Other" choice? Always add "Other" when listed options can’t cover every unique scenario. The follow-up can prompt for details, revealing issues you hadn’t anticipated and giving a fuller view of citizen concerns.
Should you ask an NPS question in a citizen road maintenance survey?
NPS (Net Promoter Score) is a simple yet powerful way to gauge overall sentiment. For a citizen road maintenance survey, NPS measures how likely residents are to recommend local infrastructure or council services to others—a wide-angle snapshot of satisfaction. In places like Scotland, where road maintenance satisfaction falls below 20% (compared to over 90% for other services!) [3], capturing the intensity of frustration is vital for action.
If you want a fast benchmark—and a catalyst for deeper conversation—try adding an NPS-style question. See how you might create an NPS survey for citizens about road maintenance and layer it with smart follow-ups to understand why someone feels the way they do.
The power of follow-up questions
The real magic happens with follow-up questions. Instead of stopping at a citizen’s surface reply, Specific’s automated follow-ups keep the chat going, just like a real conversation. Our AI can clarify answers, ask for examples, and dig into what’s left unsaid. This means richer insights—and less manual work chasing respondents for details. See how automatic AI follow-up questions make surveys smarter.
Citizen: "The roads are ok I guess."
AI follow-up: "Could you share an example of a specific area or recent maintenance issue that you remember? What made it stand out to you?"
How many followups to ask? Two to three follow-ups usually uncover enough detail—set a smart cap, and stop once you’ve captured the needed context. With Specific, you can choose when to move on, keeping the experience smooth and purposeful.
This makes it a conversational survey. Instead of a dry form, it’s a natural back-and-forth—like talking to a local expert.
AI response analysis and survey response analysis: Even if you collect a lot of unstructured text, AI makes it painless to review. Try the AI survey response analysis feature to chat with the data and get a summary in moments.
These automated followups are next-level—try generating your own survey to see this in action.
How to use prompts (ChatGPT, AI) to craft great citizen survey questions
Don’t want to start from a blank page? Prompts make it way easier to develop smart survey questions about road maintenance. Here’s how I’d do it:
First, get a quick list:
Suggest 10 open-ended questions for citizen survey about road maintenance.
Want even better results? Give the AI more context—who you are, goals, location, etc.—like this:
I am a city council staff member in Dublin planning a citizen feedback survey about road maintenance to understand satisfaction gaps, urgent issues, and ideas for service improvement. Please suggest 10 detailed open-ended questions to uncover both overall sentiment and specific experiences.
After you have the questions, use a second prompt to categorize:
Look at the questions and categorize them. Output categories with the questions under them.
Study the categories, choose what matters for your research, and dig deeper:
Generate 10 questions for categories “service satisfaction,” “reporting process,” and “road safety impact.”
That’s how to quickly go from vague needs to an expert-quality survey draft—no blank stares at Word docs.
What is a conversational survey?
A conversational survey isn’t a traditional checklist; instead, it flows like chat—question, answer, follow-up. As respondents type, the AI can probe, clarify, or pivot—making it personal, relevant, and easy. We see far better feedback rates, especially when topics risk boredom or frustration (like roads!).
Here’s how manual and AI survey creation stack up:
Manual Surveys | AI-Generated Surveys |
|---|---|
Static, form-based | Conversational, chat-like |
Authors must script every question and logic | AI crafts questions & adapts flow in real time |
Follow-ups require manual setup | Smart, automated follow-ups based on responses |
Hard to analyze free-text feedback | Built-in AI analysis & instant summaries |
Feels like homework for respondents | Feels like a friendly chat—higher response rates |
Why use AI for citizen surveys? Because time is precious—for you and your community. AI survey builders like Specific let you generate, edit, and analyze a full conversational survey in minutes, not hours. The experience is smoother for both you and your respondents—and you uncover deeper insights you’d likely miss with static forms.
We focus on AI survey examples, smart AI survey generation, and best-in-class user experience. Check out this guide on how to create a survey about road maintenance for even more practical advice.
See this road maintenance survey example now
See exactly how a conversational AI-powered survey transforms citizen feedback on road maintenance—get deeper insights faster, with less effort and a more engaging experience. Go further with smart AI follow-ups and instant analysis. Try it now.