Pace pulls plug on 2 express bus routes

Just months after it instituted two new express bus routes, Pace is pulling the plug.

The suburban bus agency made the decision because riders weren't using Route 655 Bolingbrook - Schaumburg Express or Route 889 Harvey/Blue Island - Rosemont Express.

Pace instituted the express buses Nov. 30 hoping to connect workers in the South suburbs with jobs centers in the North and Northwest.

Route 655 included stops in Downers Grove, Addison and Itasca before its terminus at the Pace Northwest Transportation Center.

Route 889 stopped in Harvey, Calumet Park, Blue Island and Alsip before coming to the CTA's Blue Line Rosemont station.

The move comes after Pace cut 15 bus routes in early February in order to balance its budget in the face of declining revenues.

The agency also announced it would curtail service on Route 755 Plainfield - IMD Express, which took riders to the Illinois Medical District and University of Illinois at Chicago. Money saved from the reduction will be spent on Route 855 Plainfield - East Loop Express, which has 299 daily riders.

Routes 655, 889 and 755 only brought in 64 average daily riders combined.

"One of the things that was an issue was that we did not get a lot of ridership at the beginning as expected," Pace spokesman Patrick Wilmot said.

"We knew it would take some time to build but we did expect it would grow more quickly than it has. Given the financial situation we're facing it did not seem prudent to continue funding these routes when we just went through the process of eliminating several others."

The annual operating cost of Route 655 was $414,400 and Route 889 was $888,000. The buses were funded by federal grants.