Schaumburg Receives Crown Communities Award for Role in Preserving Pace Bus Route 554
The Village of Schaumburg has received the American City & County Crown Communities Award for its role in preserving Pace Bus Route 554, a vital transportation link that serves a variety of destinations in Schaumburg.
Recipients of the annual awards are selected by the editors of American City & County, which has served a nationwide audience of city and county officials since 1909. Any local government initiative substantially completed within the last year can qualify for the awards, and although hundreds apply, only about 7 to 10 are selected for the award. Entries are judged on uniqueness, short- and long-term value to the community and effective or innovative financing.
The Village of Schaumburg partnered with Pace and surrounding communities to help fund the failing route, reconfigure it so that it became bidirectional, and lengthen its hours and days of service to increase ridership so that it could continue to serve the community.
"We knew the importance of keeping Pace Bus Route 554 and the village was committed to working with our partners to make the necessary changes to improve ridership and keep this route from being eliminated," Schaumburg Director of Transportation Karyn Robles said. "The route the public uses today is the result of a successful partnership, and we are happy to be recognized for the village's contributions."
The Village of Schaumburg began funding Pace Bus Route 554 in 2001 when the failing route faced elimination due to low ridership and low revenues. Schaumburg was joined by the villages of Hoffman Estates Streamwood, Hanover Park, and for a time, the City of Elgin, as well as the Northwest Suburban Mass Transit District to cooperatively fund Route 554 to continue operations. Through the cooperative funding effort, along with coordination with Pace, the route was reconfigured, became bidirectional, Saturdays were added and its hours lengthened to better serve riders.
As a result, ridership has grown from 21,000 in 2001 to 150,000 over the last year, and the community funding partners no longer need to subsidize the route, saving the Village of Schaumburg $15,000 annually.
"With a little foresight and planning, the village played a key role in saving a critical bus route that not only has stops in Schaumburg along Golf Road and Barrington Road, but also serves a diverse set of destinations in the area including St. Alexius Hospital in Hoffman Estates, Barrington Road retail districts in Schaumburg, Streamwood, and Hanover Park, the Hanover Park Metra station and the City of Elgin," Schaumburg Village President Al Larson said. "We were honored to be a part of the solution, and we're even more honored to receive this award from American City & County for our efforts."
An article on Route 554 is being featured in the December edition of American City & County magazine. To learn more about the award and to read the article, visit www.americancityandcounty.com. To learn more about Pace Bus routes serving Schaumburg, visit www.ci.schaumburg.il.us/TRANS/PTrans/Pages/PaceBusRoutes.aspx.