August 30, 2016 - The City of Thunder Bay officially launched Pingstreet, a free mobile app changing how communities and municipalities interact, today at City Hall.

Developed by eSolutionsGroup, a leading digital solutions company with a long history of working within the Public Sector, Pingstreet uses location-based technology to give citizens easy access to real-time information directly on their mobile device.

"Connecting with the City of Thunder Bay has never been easier," said Councillor Shelby Ch'ng, Chair of the Community Communications Committee. "A growing number of people are using their mobile devices to access information, and Pingstreet will allow residents and visitors to connect with city information and news in an exciting new way."

Pingstreet takes a coordinated, consistent approach to citizen engagement across all departments. The Pingstreet network currently consists of 23 municipalities across Canada. It pulls information from open source data and uses GPS to serve appropriate location-based information in real-time. The app is also expandable, allowing for more information to be added, including election information, tourism highlights and more.

The City of Thunder Bay has customize the app Pingstreet to deliver information relevant to the community, including garbage and recycling calendars, transit schedules and stops, real-time municipal service issues reporting, road closures and detours, news and emergency alerts, social media, community event calendars and more.

"Pingstreet gives users real-time access to relevant, timely, tailored information," added Ch'ng. "This mobile app is one more way we are encouraging public engagement and increasing customer service at City Hall."

Pingstreet is available to download for free on: Google Play, BlackBerry World, the Windows Phone Store or Apple's App Store.

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Contact:          Stacey Levanen, Communications Specialist, 625-3650