Pace (transit)
Encyclopedia : P : PA : PAC : Pace (transit)
Pace is the suburban bus division of the Regional Transportation Authority in the Chicago area. It was created in 1983 by the RTA Act, which established the formula that provides funding to CTA, Metra and Pace.
Pace's headquarters are in Arlington Heights, Illinois. Pace is governed by a 12 member Board of Directors comprised of current and former suburban mayors.
The six counties that Pace serves are Cook, Lake, Will, Kane, McHenry and Du Page. Some of Pace's buses also go to Chicago and Indiana. In some areas, notably Evanston and Skokie, Pace and Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) both serve the community.
Many of Pace's hubs are located at CTA rail stations (especially terminals) and Metra stations. CTA and Pace transit cards and passes are valid on both systems allowing seemless transfers. (However, since CTA no longer issues transfers with cash bus fares, it no longer accepts Pace transfers, either, but Pace transfers remain good between Pace routes.[link]) Metra fares are completely separate.
Pace buses generally have longer headways (often between 20 and 60 minutes) than CTA buses. Due to its broad geographic service area, service is provided by 9 operating divisions, as well as under agreements with several municipalities and private operators (school bus and motor coach companies).
All Pace buses are wheelchair accessible and have racks accommodating two bicycles, available during all hours of operation.
Pace is responsible for ADA paratransit service in its service area, and, effective July 1, 2006, for paratransit service in Chicago.[link] Pace also coordinates various Dial-a-Ride projects, usually sponsored by various municipalities and townships.[link] One of the largest is Ride DuPage, sponsored by Du Page County Human Services.[link]
Pace operates a Vanpool Incentive Program, where groups save by commuting together in a van owned and maintain by Pace and driven by one of the participants.[link] There is also a Municipal Vanpool Program, under which Pace provides a van to a municipality, for any public transportation purpose (such as demand response service for senior citizens).[link]
Pace's operating budget for suburban service amounts to over $156,000,000 in 2006, plus about $46,000,000 for paratransit service.[link]
Operating divisions
- Fox Valley (North Aurora)
- Heritage (Joliet)
- North (Waukegan)
- North Shore (Evanston)
- Northwest (Des Plaines)
- River (Elgin)
- South (Markham)
- Southwest (Bridgeview)
- West (Melrose Park)
Municipal operators
Municipally supported shuttles and \"trolley\" services
- Downers Grove--The Grove Commuter Shuttle,[link] was independent, but now included in Pace budget[link]
- Oak Park
- Oswego
- Schaumburg
Other major facilities
- South Holland Acceptance Facility
- McHenry Paratransit Facility
Bus fleet
| SERIES | TYPE | YEARS | LENGTH | ASSIGNED | NOTES |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1920-1937 | Chance RT-52 | 1995 | 26 | NI, P | |
| 2000-2084 | Orion I | 1990 | 35 | 1 | |
| 2085-2129 | Orion I | 1990 | 40 | 1 | |
| 2200-2271 | Ikarus | 1992 | 40 | W | 2 |
| 2272-2291, 2378 | Orion I | 1993 | 35 | NS, NW, C | |
| 2292-2377 | Orion I | 1993 | 40 | N, NS, NW, S, C | |
| 2379-2400 | Nova Classic | 1997 | 40 | H, NS, SW, W | |
| 2401-2422, 2453 | NABI 40 LFW | 1999 | 40 | S | |
| 2423-2452 | NABI 35 LFW | 1999 | 35 | N, S | |
| 2500-2556 | El Dorado Transmark | 1997 | 29 | NS, NW, W, C | |
| 6000-6161 | Orion VI | 2000-2004 | 40 | NW, SW, W | |
| 6162-6261 | NABI 40 LFW | 2003 | 40 | H, S, W | |
| 6262-6322 | NABI 40 LFW | 2005 | 40 | NS, W | 3 |
| 6600-6684 | NABI 35 LFW | 2003 | 35 | FV, H, HP, NS, R, S | |
| 6900-6907 | MCI D4000 | 2002 | 40 | S | |
| El Dorado EZ Rider II | 2006-? | 29 | 4 |
Notes
1. Although not reflected in the Active Fleet Roster in the Pace Budget, a number are still on the street.2. Partially retired.
3. In the new blue livery.
4. On order; 18 expected in late 2006.[link]
- Individual units in a series may be retired or out of service.
- Individual units may be scattered among other divisions.
- No buses with fleet numbers ending in 13 (i.e. 6262-6322 consists of 60 buses, and there is no 6313).
- Chance "American Heritage Streetcars" 1-7 operate in Schaumburg.
Abbreviations in the \"Assigned\" column
| C | Contract Operators |
| FV | Fox Valley |
| H | Heritage |
| HP | Highland Park |
| N | North |
| NI | Niles |
| NS | North Shore |
| NW | Northwest |
| P | Paratransit |
| R | River |
| S | South |
| SW | Southwest |
| W | West |
Did you know?
- Pace is not an acronym, but a marketing name.[link]
- Until recently, the last 4 numbers of the license plate matched the fleet number on Pace full-sized buses and many paratransit vehicles.
- Many Pace routes are interlined. While some are indicated on the timetable (see, e.g., routes [209] and [234]), one can determine that others (such as routes [422] and [423] on Saturday) are part of the same run only by comparing the timetables or seeing the destination sign change shortly before the bus reaches the terminal. If a bus leaves the terminal a few minutes before the return bus arrives, the lines are probably connected. Sometimes, buses will enter and leave a [transit center] on different routes.
External links
- [Pace Suburban Bus website]
- [Pace History & Facts]
- [Pace locations]
- [Bill Vandervoort's Chicago Transit and Railfan Pace page] (unofficial enthusiast's site)
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.