- Pace has also received its first battery-powered paratransit vehicle, which is currently in pre-launch testing
- Electric buses will be deployed based on the results of a fleet transition plan completed in December 2022
- Pace zero-emission facilities study was finalized in March 2024 and can be viewed here.
- Vehicles are being obtained through various funding sources including Pace's 2022 capital budget, operating funds, federal and state grants - along with pursing potential congressional community project funding and Volkswagen settlement funding
- The Regional Transportation Authority (RTA), in partnership with Pace, also recently applied for U.S. EPA Climate pollution reduction act funding that would allow Pace to purchase additional EV vehicles
- A new Northwest Division facility in Wheeling is being retrofitted for future zero-emission use
- Pace is using funding from the Rebuild Illinois capital program and the federal government for facility improvements at North Division. The funding will help realize our goal of housing a fully electric fleet at North Division by 2027 and ensure the project is fully funded
- Design and construction costs are fully funded to outfit the River Division facility to operate an initial fleet of 20 battery electric buses, up to 35 electric paratransit vehicles, and additional battery electric buses in the future
- Pace recently applied for RAISE funding to install battery electric buses charging equipment and upgrade fire protection for its initial fleet of 20 battery electric buses at the Southwest Division
- At other divisions, Pace follows federal guidelines related to clean diesel and maintaining different engine types to maximize productivity and minimize pollution. We use ultra-low sulfur fuels that meet all federal requirements
- Pace provides its employees with a $75 monthly incentive to commute to work in a vanpool. Learn how you can join a carpool or vanpool at PaceRideShare.com
- Pace recycles tires that can be used for playground flooring, tire retreading, and even tire derived fuel
- Pace uses transit signal priority on several corridors, which saves fuel and reduces carbon emissions released into the air by buses idling at a red light
- Any newly purchased diesel-fueled bus has transmissions and hydraulic systems, which use synthetic fluids that extend drain intervals (every 75,000 miles instead of 12,000) for reduced environmental impact
Driving Innovation
An integral part of Driving Innovation is the "Electric Bus; Zero-Emission Fleet Transition" initiative which will:
- Develop a plan for transitioning Pace’s facilities and fleet toward 100 percent zero emission bus (ZEB) technologies.
- Plan for battery electric bus (BEB) fleets and study other emerging alternative and clean energy technologies for potential future application.
Driving Innovation includes 4 pollution reduction action items:
ACTION ITEM 1 - Implement 100 Percent Zero-Emission Fleet by 2040
Chapter 1 of Driving Innovation discusses the profound environmental impact of greenhouse gas emissions on the climate crisis. While Pace by its very nature as a transit agency helps reduce regional transportation-related emissions in taking cars off the road and instead riding Pace’s family of services, our agency is nonetheless still an emitter of greenhouse gases using diesel-powered vehicles.
With an ever-increasing urgency to move away from fossil fuels in mind, and a desire to do our part in resolving this crisis, Pace is committed to the goal of operating 100 percent zero-emission vehicles by the year 2040.
Whether through battery electric buses (BEB) or other alternative transit fleets, Pace will remain adaptable in its approach to fulfilling its goal of environmental stewardship, while concurrently ensuring fiscal solvency and making the most use of taxpayer dollars.
Update: in December 2022, the Pace Board approved the Zero Emission Bus Transition Plan.
ACTION ITEM 2 - Implement Battery Electric Bus (BEB) Technology
Pace recognizes how interest in electrifying vehicles across private industry and US federal, state, and local governments has intensified in recent years. Looking ahead, the agency will holistically evaluate a transition path to converting its fleet to battery electric buses (BEB).
Among the many first steps we are taking, Action Item 2 of the A-2 Capital Improvement Projects initiative describes Pace’s forthcoming Facilities Plan. This effort will include an investigation of the prerequisites that BEB technology requires to successfully operate. Once established, Pace will further plan what next steps to take toward transitioning the rest of its fleet.
In the coming year, Pace is also slated to receive two fully electric paratransit vehicles as part of an IDOT-led purchase of buses. The agency is also in discussions with various other regional stakeholders to identify partnerships for procuring vehicles and charging infrastructure, as well as explore funding opportunities that will allow Pace to pursue the implementation of this technology.
A Union of Concerned Scientists 2017 study indicates that BEB’s have 70 percent lower global warming emissions than CNG or diesel hybrid buses even when considering the lifecycle missions required to generate the necessary electricity. Similarly, a 2018 US PIRG Education Fund Study4 indicates that implementing BEB’s lower operational costs yields fuel and maintenance savings over a vehicle’s life cycle.
Pace praises the efforts of many other transit agencies across the nation and world who are investing heavily in transitioning their fleets to BEB and other green, renewable, and environmentally cognizant sources of vehicle propulsion. We will coordinate closely with the CTA who is already pioneering this technology in the Chicago region, as well as IDOT, Illinois Tollway and other regional partners to identify opportunities to share resources, ideas and expertise for electrifying public fleets.
ACTION ITEM 3 - Diesel & Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) Transition
Pace has made major investments in CNG vehicles over the past few years. In 2018, Pace completed a compressed natural gas (CNG) bus garage in Markham that houses 98 CNG buses. Benefits of CNG include lower fuel cost, lower maintenance cost, elimination of harmful particulate pollution, and lower greenhouse gas emissions than diesel.
Nonetheless, Pace recognizes that both diesel and CNG are fossil fuels that produce greenhouse gas emissions. Moving forward, Pace will curtail new spending on diesel vehicles and limit expansion of CNG technology.
Ultimately, Pace aims to make CNG a transition technology that provides a cleaner alternative to diesel and allows the agency the prerequisite time to implement BEB and other clean fuels. As such, Pace has begun to implement steps toward converting the agency’s entire bus fleet to zero-emission vehicles by 2040.
Pace's first electric fixed route bus went into service in January 2024 at Southwest Division in Bridgeview. In partnership with the Illinois Department of Transportation, two electric paratransit vehicles will be added to Pace’s ADA Paratransit fleet. Pace has begun electrification of the North Division facility in Waukegan, and is currently pursuing design and construction of Phase 1 improvements, which will accommodate 12 BEBs. Pace plans to complete the necessary facility renovations and have 60 BEBs implemented at North Division in 2027.
The conversion of over 700 fixed route buses to ZEBs is a complex effort that requires new vehicles and equipment, as well as upgraded facility infrastructure. Due to the size of Pace’s fleet, this effort will take decades to implement. Pace is being proactive and requesting funding to replace thirty-three 30-foot diesel buses with thirty-three 35-foot diesel-electric hybrid buses, starting the transition to cleaner vehicles, while the agency” continues facility upgrades to accommodate ZEBs.
ACTION ITEM 4 - Investigate Emerging Alternative Fleets
Pace recognizes that other vehicle propulsion technologies may have potential to one day replace or augment Pace’s transit fleet beyond its forthcoming BEB technology.
Transit agencies across the nation have been investigating, piloting and operating alternatives such as hydrogen fuel cell electric buses (FCEBs). There may also be long-term cost efficiencies in retooling CNG facilities with fuel cell technologies that are worth further investigation. Moreover, completely new and innovative technologies may be invented and developed in the coming years which may be of interest for Pace to explore.
Overall, Pace will carefully weigh the implications of operating multiple vehicle technologies under any scenario and ensure its ability to maintain the highest standards in safety, training, and maintenance prior to making new commitments. Additionally, Pace will ensure that previous funding for technologies such as CNG, BEB, or any other new technology is not wasted and that assets reach the full useful life cycle before being replaced or are otherwise repurposed to achieve the highest possible return on investment.
How Can I Help?
