Free On-Demand Ride Service Planned for Fort Bragg Next Summer

Service members and their families at Fort Bragg are expected to gain a free new way to travel around the installation without a personal vehicle. An on-demand ride service called the Bragg Connector is scheduled to launch next summer.

The microtransit program is intended to improve access and mobility across the 160,000-acre post. It is modeled on a similar system at Fort Carson in Colorado and will operate more like a rideshare than a traditional bus. Riders will request trips through a mobile app.

Adam DiGaudio, Intergovernmental Military Manager for Fayetteville, said residents of on-post housing would be able to book a ride from their front door. He said the service could also encourage social interaction by getting people out of their barracks and homes and giving them an option to travel from point A to point B when they really need to.

The city of Fayetteville is working with Fort Bragg, the Department of Public Works, Garrison Headquarters, and North Carolina Park Transportation's Integrated Mobility Division to plan the program. DiGaudio said the city's main role is careful planning with all partners so transit services can grow without cutting current Department of Transit operations. He described the effort as creating a new type of transit operation focused on service members, their families, dependents, residents and civilian employees on the installation.

Demand for flexible transportation is expected to be high. According to the source, more than 240,000 service members, families and employees are on post.

The program remains in its early stages. DiGaudio said the number of vehicles and the employee structure have not been finalized. Once those details are settled, he said, the city will be able to give the Army a recommendation and a proposal on what it believes the true cost of the program will be.

Possible stops for the Bragg Connector include the Child Development Center, barracks and dining facilities. Unlike fixed bus routes, the service will provide point-to-point trips on demand for anyone on the installation.

Lawrence Pico, deputy director of Public Works, said he believes the service could noticeably improve quality of life for people who live and work on post. "It takes you anywhere from 30 to 40 minutes to get across post sometimes," Pico said. He added that he hopes microtransit will ease traffic on base so people can get around more easily.

DiGaudio said the community may not fully appreciate how hard it can be to get around the installation, whether someone is a service member in uniform, a family member, a civilian employee or a contracted employee. He said people often take reliable, routine transportation for granted, and that the Bragg Connector fits that need.

Pico said the goal is to give people one less thing to worry about, so they can focus on readiness and training. The Bragg Connector is expected to open next summer as a free and flexible option on one of the Army's busiest installations.