Pace, the suburban public busing agency, is working on some major restructuring and changes. Some of them include user-friendly web-based bus location checks, so that riders can get to the bus when the bus is actually getting to their stop. While I haven’t seen it yet, apparently some Pace buses now have TVs installed. I have high hopes that with their current study of the population they do (and can) serve, along with enlightened government officials recognizing the return on investment for public transit, that Pace can reduce traffic congestion, improve suburban mobility (for mass transit users and car drivers) and ultimately become a ride that people really do want to take - because it improves their quality of life.
The money quote in today’s Tribune about Pace:
“My guess is that 85 percent of Pace’s current service was operating 25 years ago, and the region has significantly changed in those 25 years,” said Joe DiJohn, director of the Urban Transportation Center at the University of Illinois at Chicago and a former Pace executive director. “What they are doing is responding to demographic changes.”
With proper study and implementation, it can’t come too soon!
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