Riders: Threatened Pace cuts pose big problems

Compared to the CTA or Metra, Pace sometimes resembles the neglected middle child of public transit, receiving less funding and attention than its siblings.

But for the passengers affected by possible elimination or reductions of about 50 bus routes serving the suburbs, Pace is No. 1.

It's a lifeline to jobs, school, groceries and doctors, which is why hundreds of riders are hoping the ax won't fall on their particular bus at a meeting Wednesday, when Pace leaders make final decisions about cutbacks.

Waiting for the Route 699 bus, one of the routes on the chopping block, Harper College sophomore Thomas Groh explained that if it's canceled he'll be forced to leave school because he doesn't have a car.

"For me it would be cutting off my life support. It would cut off my education. My education is my future," said Groh, who lives in Elk Grove and takes the bus to Harper in Palatine.

It's possible Groh could be lucky. After hearing repeated pleas from riders desperate to salvage routes, board directors in November agreed to take a month to see if the list of reductions could be trimmed. They promised to talk with other entities such as Harper College in hopes of forging partnerships to subsidize costs.

The agency faced a $6.5 million shortfall this year, due to rising costs and deflated sales tax revenues, the main source of funding for Pace along with fares.

Pace is curtailing its administrative costs by $2.7 million to help balance the budget through furlough days, hiring freezes and slimming its marketing, fuel and insurance costs.

"Our staff has been hard at work with stakeholders to develop alternatives. We're trying to mitigate the impacts for as many riders as possible, but despite our best efforts the realities of a $6.5 million shortfall must be dealt with," Pace spokesman Patrick Wilmot said.

Still, officials "felt very strongly that we should take the extra month to continue working on the plan, and we're confident that the extra time will have paid off."

The proposed changes are a concern for local governments across the region as well as riders.

Naperville council members passed a resolution in October stating "the elimination of routes should be a last resort and only be taken when all other options have been exhausted."

In Kane County, deleting Saturday service on Routes 528 and 529 will hurt workers, Chief of Planning and Programming Steve Coffinbarger said.

"One of the purposes when these routes were established was to provide transportation to employment locations throughout the Randall Road and Orchard Road corridors. Obviously, workers still need to get to work on Saturday," Coffinbarger said.

Ironically, the county is surveying riders on its route529study.com Web site to find out ways to improve Route 529.

"We don't want to see it eliminated at any time in the week," Coffinbarger said.

Routes with low ridership and high cost to farebox recovery ratios were the ones chosen, Pace officials said.

But some riders worry the cuts come at too high a price.

Like Groh, Harper College freshman Cameron Hansen relies on public transit to attend school.

"I depend on the bus. I don't drive," said Hansen of Des Plaines.

Without Route 657 transporting him between home in Glendale Heights and the Glen Ellyn Metra station, John Logan has no way to reach his job at The Chicago Lighthouse, an organization serving the visually impaired.

"I'm not quite sure yet what would happen," said Logan, who is visually impaired.

Ray Campbell, a Glen Ellyn resident who takes Route 654 to the train station said eliminating routes like his is a slap in the face to public transit users.

"When you have people who want to ride, especially in these days when we're trying to protect the environment and reduce dependency on foreign oil, I would think you'd want to add to public transit," Campbell said.

Bus route eliminations will also have a ripple effect on the disabled, some warn. Pace is required to provide paratransit, a ride service for people with disabilities, to people within 3/4 mile of fixed bus routes.

No buses could mean no paratransit, said Evelyn Graves, an Arlington Heights resident who is visually impaired.

If cuts go ahead, "a lot of people are going to be affected, not just the ridership of the big buses," Graves said.

• Melissa Jenco contributed to this report.