HR0816LRB103 40739 LAW 73552 r

1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives wish to congratulate Pace, the Suburban Bus
4Division of the Regional Transportation Authority, on the
5occasion of its 40th anniversary; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Pace was formed by legislation passed by the
7Illinois General Assembly in 1983, and it officially began
8operations on July 1, 1984; and
 
9    WHEREAS, At its founding, Pace's new leadership inherited
10responsibility for operating hundreds of suburban bus routes
11that had previously been operated by financially struggling
12municipal and private bus companies throughout northeastern
13Illinois; and
 
14    WHEREAS, Pace consolidated and modernized those various
15operations into a unified, streamlined, and efficient transit
16agency while also closely coordinating with its partner
17agencies Metra and the Chicago Transit Authority under the
18oversight of the Regional Transportation Authority; and
 
19    WHEREAS, Pace became responsible for operating ADA
20Paratransit services in Chicago as well as the suburbs after a
21change in State law in 2005, leading to vast improvements in

 

 

HR0816- 2 -LRB103 40739 LAW 73552 r

1customer satisfaction and greater ridership on that service;
2and
 
3    WHEREAS, Pace buses were authorized to use the shoulder of
4Interstate 55 in the southwest suburbs due to a change in State
5law in 2011, resulting in tremendous improvements in travel
6time and on-time performance on that corridor and a subsequent
7600% ridership increase in the first seven years of the law's
8enactment; and
 
9    WHEREAS, Pace launched its Pulse rapid transit program
10with an initial line on Milwaukee Avenue in 2019 and a second
11line on Dempster Street in 2023, with three more lines now in
12development, leading to faster travel times and greater
13ridership on those corridors; and
 
14    WHEREAS, Pace, as the operator of a fleet of more than 700
15buses, recognized its responsibility for pollution reduction
16and committed itself to converting its entire fleet to
17zero-emission vehicles by 2040, a goal that they are on
18schedule to meet; and
 
19    WHEREAS, Pace has proven to be a consistent reformer,
20ensuring its services meet the needs of the commuting public,
21as evidenced by the Vision2020 program of 2001, during the
22COVID-19 pandemic, and this year's ReVision project; amidst

 

 

HR0816- 3 -LRB103 40739 LAW 73552 r

1the COVID-19 pandemic, the suburban transit provider
2especially demonstrated both how essential it was to
3transit-dependent commuters in northeastern Illinois and how
4compassionate its leadership was while navigating the evolving
5crisis to ensure public health and safety; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Pace has emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic with
7a renewed spirit of reform by implementing many new programs,
8including VanGo, a reservation-based service providing public
9transit where and when it is needed, while also ensuring
10taxpayer funding is utilized efficiently; and
 
11    WHEREAS, Over its 40-year history, Pace has been a
12national leader in innovation and technology through
13implementing a number of initiatives, including the Vanpool
14program, the Intelligent Bus System (IBS) for real-time
15tracking of buses, the On Demand service, the TripCheck
16tracking system for paratransit customers, the Mobility as a
17Service (MaaS) program on the Transit mobile app, and the new
18Rideshare Access Program; and
 
19    WHEREAS, In a recent study concerning the future of public
20transportation in northeastern Illinois, Pace remains more
21efficient when compared to peer agencies across the country;
22and
 

 

 

HR0816- 4 -LRB103 40739 LAW 73552 r

1    WHEREAS, Pace's responsiveness to its stakeholders in
2northeastern Illinois continues to ensure that public transit
3riders in the six-county region will be well served for the
4next 40 years; therefore, be it
 
5    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
6HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
7we congratulate Pace, its Board of Directors, and its
8employees on providing 40 years of safe, equitable, efficient,
9and environmentally responsible transportation in the
10six-county region of northeastern Illinois, and we wish the
11suburban transit provider continued success in the decades
12ahead; and be it further
 
13    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
14presented to the Pace Board of Directors as an expression of
15our esteem and respect.