Pace (transit)

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Pace
Pace bus in traditional livery.
Founded	1983
Headquarters	Arlington Heights, Illinois
Locale	Chicagoland
Service Area	Cook, Lake, Will, Kane, McHenry and Du Page
Service Type	Commuter
Routes	240
Fleet	680 buses 719 vans 364 owned vehicles in paratransit service (per 2007 budget)
Fuel_type	Diesel
Operator	Pace divisions or contract operators
Chief Executive	T.J. Ross
Website	http://www.pacebus.com/

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.[1]) 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.[2] Pace also coordinates various Dial-a-Ride projects, usually sponsored by various municipalities and townships.[3] One of the largest is Ride DuPage, sponsored by Du Page County Human Services.[4]

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.[5] 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).[6]

Pace's operating budget for suburban service is projected to be over $166,000,000 in 2007, plus about $91,400,000 for regional paratransit service.[7]

Contents 1 Operating divisions 2 Municipal operators 3 Municipally supported shuttles and "trolley" services 4 Other major facilities 5 Bus fleet 5.1 Notes 5.2 Abbreviations in the "Assigned" column 6 Did you know? 7 External links

[edit] 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)

[edit] Municipal operators

• Niles
• Highland Park

[edit] Municipally supported shuttles and "trolley" services

• Downers Grove--The Grove Commuter Shuttle,[8] was independent, but now included in Pace budget[9]
• Oak Park
• Oswego
• Schaumburg

[edit] Other major facilities

• South Holland Acceptance Facility
• McHenry Paratransit Facility

[edit] Bus fleet

SERIES	TYPE	YEARS	LENGTH	ASSIGNED	NOTES
1920-1937	Chance RT-52	1995	26'	NI, P
2000-2084	Orion I	1990	35'	C	1
2085-2129	Orion I	1990	40'	N, NS, C	1
2200-2271	Ikarus	1992	40'	W, C	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'	N, S
2423-2452	NABI 35 LFW	1999	35'	N, S
2500-2556	El Dorado Transmark	1997	29'	FV, NS, NW, W, C
6000-6161	Orion VI	2000-2004	40'	NW, SW, W
6162-6261	NABI 40 LFW	2003	40'	H, NS, 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
2600-2702	El Dorado EZ Rider II	2006-2007	30'	FV, HP, NI, P (McHenry)	3, 4

[edit] 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. Deliveries commenced in October 2006; initial allocation according to Pace's Moving into the Future electronic newsletter of October 19, 2006; projected fleet numbers based on press reports,[10] with options for up to 222 buses.

• 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.

[edit] 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 (also includes Dial-A-Ride, rural routes)
R	River
S	South
SW	Southwest
W	West

[edit] Did you know?

• Pace is not an acronym, but a marketing name.[11]
• Subject to a few exceptions (primarily some 2003 and 2005 NABIs), the last 4 numbers of the license plate match the fleet number on Pace buses and some paratransit vehicles. For instance, the license plate on 2636 is M172636.
• 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.

[edit] External links

• Pace Suburban Bus website
• Pace History & Facts
• Pace locations
• Bill Vandervoort's Chicago Transit and Railfan Pace page (unofficial enthusiast's site)
• Bus Ride Magazine article on Pace's E-Z Rider II buses.