Full Text of HR0816 103rd General Assembly
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION | 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives wish to congratulate Pace, the Suburban Bus | 4 | | Division of the Regional Transportation Authority, on the | 5 | | occasion of its 40th anniversary; and | 6 | | WHEREAS, Pace was formed by legislation passed by the | 7 | | Illinois General Assembly in 1983, and it officially began | 8 | | operations on July 1, 1984; and | 9 | | WHEREAS, At its founding, Pace's new leadership inherited | 10 | | responsibility for operating hundreds of suburban bus routes | 11 | | that had previously been operated by financially struggling | 12 | | municipal and private bus companies throughout northeastern | 13 | | Illinois; and | 14 | | WHEREAS, Pace consolidated and modernized those various | 15 | | operations into a unified, streamlined, and efficient transit | 16 | | agency while also closely coordinating with its partner | 17 | | agencies Metra and the Chicago Transit Authority under the | 18 | | oversight of the Regional Transportation Authority; and | 19 | | WHEREAS, Pace became responsible for operating ADA | 20 | | Paratransit services in Chicago as well as the suburbs after a | 21 | | change in State law in 2005, leading to vast improvements in |
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| 1 | | customer satisfaction and greater ridership on that service; | 2 | | and | 3 | | WHEREAS, Pace buses were authorized to use the shoulder of | 4 | | Interstate 55 in the southwest suburbs due to a change in State | 5 | | law in 2011, resulting in tremendous improvements in travel | 6 | | time and on-time performance on that corridor and a subsequent | 7 | | 600% ridership increase in the first seven years of the law's | 8 | | enactment; and | 9 | | WHEREAS, Pace launched its Pulse rapid transit program | 10 | | with an initial line on Milwaukee Avenue in 2019 and a second | 11 | | line on Dempster Street in 2023, with three more lines now in | 12 | | development, leading to faster travel times and greater | 13 | | ridership on those corridors; and | 14 | | WHEREAS, Pace, as the operator of a fleet of more than 700 | 15 | | buses, recognized its responsibility for pollution reduction | 16 | | and committed itself to converting its entire fleet to | 17 | | zero-emission vehicles by 2040, a goal that they are on | 18 | | schedule to meet; and | 19 | | WHEREAS, Pace has proven to be a consistent reformer, | 20 | | ensuring its services meet the needs of the commuting public, | 21 | | as evidenced by the Vision2020 program of 2001, during the | 22 | | COVID-19 pandemic, and this year's ReVision project; amidst |
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| 1 | | the COVID-19 pandemic, the suburban transit provider | 2 | | especially demonstrated both how essential it was to | 3 | | transit-dependent commuters in northeastern Illinois and how | 4 | | compassionate its leadership was while navigating the evolving | 5 | | crisis to ensure public health and safety; and | 6 | | WHEREAS, Pace has emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic with | 7 | | a renewed spirit of reform by implementing many new programs, | 8 | | including VanGo, a reservation-based service providing public | 9 | | transit where and when it is needed, while also ensuring | 10 | | taxpayer funding is utilized efficiently; and | 11 | | WHEREAS, Over its 40-year history, Pace has been a | 12 | | national leader in innovation and technology through | 13 | | implementing a number of initiatives, including the Vanpool | 14 | | program, the Intelligent Bus System (IBS) for real-time | 15 | | tracking of buses, the On Demand service, the TripCheck | 16 | | tracking system for paratransit customers, the Mobility as a | 17 | | Service (MaaS) program on the Transit mobile app, and the new | 18 | | Rideshare Access Program; and | 19 | | WHEREAS, In a recent study concerning the future of public | 20 | | transportation in northeastern Illinois, Pace remains more | 21 | | efficient when compared to peer agencies across the country; | 22 | | and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Pace's responsiveness to its stakeholders in | 2 | | northeastern Illinois continues to ensure that public transit | 3 | | riders in the six-county region will be well served for the | 4 | | next 40 years; therefore, be it | 5 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 6 | | HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 7 | | we congratulate Pace, its Board of Directors, and its | 8 | | employees on providing 40 years of safe, equitable, efficient, | 9 | | and environmentally responsible transportation in the | 10 | | six-county region of northeastern Illinois, and we wish the | 11 | | suburban transit provider continued success in the decades | 12 | | ahead; and be it further | 13 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 14 | | presented to the Pace Board of Directors as an expression of | 15 | | our esteem and respect. |
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