Board approves first Pace/Uber pilot, expansion of Taxi Access Program, Cook County IGA for $500,000 Invest in Cook grant for Pulse 95th Street Line work, and CNG bus order
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, IL – At yesterday’s meeting of the Pace Board of Directors, 18 Pace bus operators were honored for their induction to the National Safety Council 2021 Million Mile Club. This is prestigious award recognizes bus operators who have driven 12.5 years (or more) without a preventable accident. This year’s group of inductees has a combined total of 275 years of driving without a preventable accident. Pace is proud to be home to a total of 176 Million Milers, including this year’s 15 One-Million Milers, two Two-Million Milers, and one Three-Million Miler.
“With the number of miles these inductees have driven, you could go to the moon and back 46 times,” said Interim Executive Director Melinda Metzger. “This is really an amazing achievement and a milestone in their career.” Metzger went on to acknowledge Three-Million Miler William Wolf, a 42-year veteran bus operator, line instructor, and mentor. “He is an operator who goes out there every day and is providing this essential service to people,” she said. “We’re very proud of him.”
The Pace Board of Directors went on to approve an ordinance for an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with Cook County for $500,000 of Invest in Cook grant funding to support the environmental review and advanced conceptual design phase of the Pulse 95th Street Line project. This phase of the project will cost $600,000. The remaining $100,000 will be paid for through a 20% local match to be covered under Pace’s operating budget. Once this second phase is complete, Pace will be able to advance final design engineering work to put this project out for construction bid. Design engineering and construction work is funded through a Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality grant award through the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning.
Also of note was the approval of a one-year Transportation Network Companies (TNC) Pilot Project with Uber Technologies, Inc for DuPage County. This is the first in a series of pilots included in Pace’s 2022 budget, which totals $6,000,000 for the implementation of TNC projects. As Pace continues to recover from the pandemic, it will focus on the implementation of innovative services like this partnership to meet the redefined needs of those Pace serves. This pilot will provide ADA Paratransit and Ride DuPage passengers an alternative option to dedicated paratransit services. The project will launch January 31, 2022.
“I think there are exciting things ahead and this is by no means a replacement for our existing service,” said Pace Chairman Rick Kwasneski. “This is an enhancement more than anything. It certainly gives people another option that gives them flexibility.”
The Pace Board of Directors also approved an ordinance for the purchase of a minimum of 94 and a maximum of 135 ElDorado compressed natural gas (CNG) buses. To enhance the agency’s Taxi Access Program (TAP), the Pace Board also approved the addition of funds for the program due to an increase in ridership.
Unless otherwise noted, Pace Board Meetings are held in the Board Room of Pace Headquarters at 550 W. Algonquin Road, Arlington Heights, IL, on the third Wednesday of the month at 9:30 a.m. The meetings are live streamed and past meetings are available for viewing on Pace’s Board Meeting Video page.
