Bus plan resurrects carpool questions
Pace leaders Wednesday endorsed seeking federal aid to create an ambitious bus route that links low-employment areas in the South suburbs with job centers in Oak Brook and near O'Hare International Airport.
The proposal, a partnership with the Illinois Tollway, would run Pace buses along I-294 from South Holland to Rosemont on a high-occupancy toll or carpool lane.
That aspect of the plan seems to conflict with a decision by tollway officials this winter to delay implementing a $1.8 billion construction program that included carpool or "green" lanes on I-294, which former Gov. Rod Blagojevich supported.
Federal prosecutors have charged Blagojevich with corruption and allege that among other crimes, he tried to extort donations from a highway contractor in connection with the tollway's $1.8 billion project. Blagojevich denies any wrongdoing.
Subsequently the agency agreed to put the building program and the green lanes plan on hold.
The I-294 bus route would run about 35 miles from the Lincoln oasis in South Holland to the Rosemont CTA stop, which links up with Pace buses. It would include stops at 159th Street, 75th Street, Ogden Avenue, Oak Brook, and the O'Hare Oasis.
Pace is applying for $200 million in federal grants that would pay for new compressed natural gas buses and build or improve parking facilities among other needs. The operating costs would be about $18 million a year. The deadline to apply for the funding is Sept. 15, and the awards will be announced in February. Recipients will have two years to complete the projects.
Tollway engineer Rocco Zucchero said the buses could run on an inside lane of the Tri-State designated as a high-occupancy lane along with passenger vehicles carrying more than one person. Cars with one person could conceivably use the lane but would pay a premium price.
Getting more people to carpool helps the tollway because "it makes the system work more efficiently," he said.
Pace Deputy Director for Strategic Services Michael Bolton said the idea came at the urging of South suburban lawmakers and would address job disparities between North and South suburbs.
Officials said the plans are still preliminary and hinge on getting the federal aid.
Bolton said fares would be higher than those on regular Pace buses and the agency intended to look at distance-based fares.
Pace Director Tom Marcucci of Elmhurst called the concept a good one but said it will be crucial the system is well-used so it could be self-sustaining.