HR0816 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0816 LRB103 40739 LAW 73552 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives wish to congratulate Pace, the Suburban Bus Division of the Regional Transportation Authority, on the occasion of its 40th anniversary; and

WHEREAS, Pace was formed by legislation passed by the Illinois General Assembly in 1983, and it officially began operations on July 1, 1984; and

WHEREAS, At its founding, Pace's new leadership inherited responsibility for operating hundreds of suburban bus routes that had previously been operated by financially struggling municipal and private bus companies throughout northeastern Illinois; and

WHEREAS, Pace consolidated and modernized those various operations into a unified, streamlined, and efficient transit agency while also closely coordinating with its partner agencies Metra and the Chicago Transit Authority under the oversight of the Regional Transportation Authority; and

WHEREAS, Pace became responsible for operating ADA Paratransit services in Chicago as well as the suburbs after a change in State law in 2005, leading to vast improvements in customer satisfaction and greater ridership on that service; and

WHEREAS, Pace buses were authorized to use the shoulder of Interstate 55 in the southwest suburbs due to a change in State law in 2011, resulting in tremendous improvements in travel time and on-time performance on that corridor and a subsequent 600% ridership increase in the first seven years of the law's enactment; and

WHEREAS, Pace launched its Pulse rapid transit program with an initial line on Milwaukee Avenue in 2019 and a second line on Dempster Street in 2023, with three more lines now in development, leading to faster travel times and greater ridership on those corridors; and

WHEREAS, Pace, as the operator of a fleet of more than 700 buses, recognized its responsibility for pollution reduction and committed itself to converting its entire fleet to zero-emission vehicles by 2040, a goal that they are on schedule to meet; and

WHEREAS, Pace has proven to be a consistent reformer, ensuring its services meet the needs of the commuting public, as evidenced by the Vision2020 program of 2001, during the COVID-19 pandemic, and this year's ReVision project; amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the suburban transit provider especially demonstrated both how essential it was to transit-dependent commuters in northeastern Illinois and how compassionate its leadership was while navigating the evolving crisis to ensure public health and safety; and

WHEREAS, Pace has emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic with a renewed spirit of reform by implementing many new programs, including VanGo, a reservation-based service providing public transit where and when it is needed, while also ensuring taxpayer funding is utilized efficiently; and

WHEREAS, Over its 40-year history, Pace has been a national leader in innovation and technology through implementing a number of initiatives, including the Vanpool program, the Intelligent Bus System (IBS) for real-time tracking of buses, the On Demand service, the TripCheck tracking system for paratransit customers, the Mobility as a Service (MaaS) program on the Transit mobile app, and the new Rideshare Access Program; and

WHEREAS, In a recent study concerning the future of public transportation in northeastern Illinois, Pace remains more efficient when compared to peer agencies across the country; and

WHEREAS, Pace's responsiveness to its stakeholders in northeastern Illinois continues to ensure that public transit riders in the six-county region will be well served for the next 40 years; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Pace, its Board of Directors, and its employees on providing 40 years of safe, equitable, efficient, and environmentally responsible transportation in the six-county region of northeastern Illinois, and we wish the suburban transit provider continued success in the decades ahead; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the Pace Board of Directors as an expression of our esteem and respect.