Jonesboro unveils 'Gojo' transit brand, unveils mobile app and route expansion plans

The Jonesboro City Council on Wednesday heard a multi-part presentation on the city's newly rebranded public transit system, "Gojo," including a live demonstration of the agency's new mobile application and plans to expand routes and passenger amenities.

The mayor opened the special presentation by thanking transit employees for their service and announcing the new brand. Lee, a transit staff member who led the rebrand effort, told council the goal is to make the system more visible and clearly tied to Jonesboro so residents immediately recognize buses, shelters and transit information as city services.

"Public transportation is not intended to serve only a small segment of the population," Lee said, arguing the new brand will help connect riders with jobs, schools and healthcare.

Ryan Brazier, the marketing coordinator for Gojo, demonstrated the "Let's Gojo" app, showing live bus locations and stop information, a trip-planning tool and route maps. "I'm Ryan Brazier. I'm the marketing coordinator for Gojo," Brazier said as he walked council through the app's home screen, stop schedules and the plan-a-trip features.

Brazier said the app allows riders to see which routes serve a stop, live location of buses, and detailed walking and transfer directions. He credited beta testers, including Anne Williams, and encouraged riders to follow Gojo's new Facebook page and participate in social-media campaigns.

Rachel Cook, field operations supervisor at Gojo, outlined staffing and service changes intended to reduce wait times and extend service coverage. She said the transit agency is hiring CDL drivers and offering in-house CDL training, expanding from four weekday routes toward a five-route schedule plus additional trolleys serving campus. Cook said planners are aiming for average wait times of roughly 15–30 minutes on campus after the expansion and hope to bring new trolleys and routes online by the end of the second quarter or early third quarter.

The presentation also covered infrastructure and accessibility improvements: 45 transit shelters were ordered (37 single locations plus double shelters in two locations), LED and RGB lighting for safety and arrival indication, ADA accommodations including text-to-speech and multilingual signage where needed, and a transfer-center display system for tracking bus movements. Council noted it had approved a digital fare-collection system; staff said the tap-to-pay rollout will begin in April and will allow riders to purchase reloadable cards and load balance at city hall or participating retail locations.

Why it matters: Council members said they expect the rebrand, app and shelter investments to increase ridership, reduce wait times and improve safety and access across Jonesboro. The changes also include operational shifts to better connect parts of the city that currently lack fixed-route service.

The transit team invited council and the public to download the app and review route maps; staff said additional route details, maps and scannable logos were available at city hall after the meeting. The council did not take formal action on policy changes during the presentation; staff said implementation and additional route decisions will continue through forthcoming planning steps.