Fairfield County introduces Pingo app and expands door-to-door Link Direct service

County Commissioner Steve Davis and Brandy, operations manager at the LINC, used a county briefing to announce a new rider app called Pingo and to describe Link Direct, a door-to-door transit option intended to increase accessibility for Fairfield County residents.

Brandy, operations manager at the LINC, said the service network logged "over 10,000 trips for people" last month and framed the new software as a response to rising demand. "The app is rider focused," she said, adding that the county has signed a contract with The Routing Company to supply the platform.

The app, called Pingo, is designed to let riders choose a destination, enter date and time on two screens and book a trip; Brandy compared the user experience to ride-hailing apps, saying, "It is very much like Uber, even to the tune of remembering the places that you've been." Riders will be able to download Pingo from the App Store or Google Play and create a user account to schedule trips.

Brandy also described Link Direct, the county's direct-to-door service. "Link Direct is exactly what the name is. It's direct to you," she said, while noting that some trips may include other passengers and a small number of stops before a passenger arrives at their destination. She added the service guarantees the scheduled arrival time.

Commissioner Steve Davis asked how riders who do not have smartphones would use the service; Brandy said a cell phone or mobile device is required but that tablets—common among older riders—also work. She said the software rollout is timed to match increasing ridership and county support.

Brandy credited local leaders and the LINC director, Karen Kennedy, for driving the shift to the new routing software; in the briefing she said Karen Kennedy "is the brains behind the routing company and the software switch," language that tied local leadership to the change but did not clarify organizational relationships beyond naming Kennedy as director.

The pair also noted cosmetic updates to the fleet: Brandy said one bus is currently being wrapped and that when wrapping is complete more than half the fleet will display the new livery. The presentation closed with Davis thanking Brandy and attendees; Brandy said the Pingo launch is "coming soon," but no firm launch date was provided.

Officials did not present supporting documentation on the 10,000-trip figure during the briefing, and there was no public comment or formal vote recorded. Next steps reported to attendees were vendor rollout and an app launch; staff did not announce a specific public launch date during the session.