Pace Naperville-Wheaton bus route could lose its wheels

A Pace bus route connecting Wheaton and Naperville that was seen as a breakthrough in mass transit for the suburbs could be headed for the scrap heap.

The fate of Route 714, which connects locations such as Edward Hospital and College of DuPage, is up for grabs with a hearing on eliminating the service set for Aug. 19.

Pace officials said a federal air quality grant that paid for 80 percent of the route has run out. Naperville had helped subsidize the service, but without the federal dollars, the suburban transit agency can't afford it.

"If we were able to continue the federal funding, this would be a different story," Pace spokesman Patrick Wilmot said. "But time is running out and so is the funding."

Route 714 began operating on weekdays two years ago, with some fanfare. Naperville, Wheaton and DuPage County leaders lauded it as an important step in suburb-to-suburb transit.

The bus traveled from Edward Hospital in Naperville to the Wheaton Metra station and stopped at locations such as Danada Square East Shopping Center, COD and Wheaton College.

Ridership on the route was borderline, Pace officials said, averaging about 298 users a day. A comparable service on Route 715 between Addison and Darien nets 466 people per day, Wilmot said.

The public hearing on Route 714 will be at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 19, at COD's Open Campus Center, 425 Fawell Blvd., Glen Ellyn.