[il-talk] Fw: Pace Moving Forward: October 28, 2011
Hap Holly
hap at therainreport.com
Sun Oct 30 16:08:50 UTC 2011
Many thanks, Robert, for posting this newsletter.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Robert A Hansen" <roberthansen33 at yahoo.com>
To: "NFB I'll Talk" <il-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Sunday, October 30, 2011 7:40 AM
Subject: [il-talk] Fw: Pace Moving Forward: October 28, 2011
------Original Message------
From: Govt Affairs
To: Govt Affairs
Subject: Pace Moving Forward: October 28, 2011
Sent: Oct 28, 2011 4:39 PM
Thank you for subscribing to the text-only version of Pace's weekly
e-newsletter, Moving Forward. If at any time, you have questions, feedback,
or wish to change or update your subscription, please reply to this message
or contact us at govt.affairs at pacebus.com.
Thank you,
Pace External Relations
+ + + + +
Pace Moving Forward
Volume 8, Issue 21
October 28, 2011
Bus on Shoulder Project Begins Nov. 14
The Chicago region suffers from some of the worst traffic congestion in the
U.S. Travel times and the cost of driving continue to rise. Commuters
heading to Chicago from the southwest suburbs who have always wished they
could simply go around the traffic jams plaguing I-55 will finally have
their chance on November 14 with the advent of the Bus on Shoulder pilot
project, a joint program with participation from Pace, IDOT and RTA.
Amendments to the Illinois Vehicle Code passed by the General Assembly and
signed by Governor Quinn earlier this year set the guidelines for the
project that include the following:
-Only Pace buses can use the shoulder, and are limited to designated
sections of I-55 between the hours of 5am-9am for inbound trips, and 3pm-7pm
for outbound trips.
-Buses can only use the shoulder for travel when traffic in the regular
lanes is flowing at 35mph or less.
-When on the shoulder, buses can travel at a max speed of 35mph or 15mph
more than the flow of traffic- whichever is less.
-Each bus is well-marked with signage clearly indicating it is authorized to
use the shoulder.
The program guidelines are closely modeled after those used in Minneapolis,
where a Bus on Shoulder program has existed for more than a decade. Similar
operations also exist in Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio and Miami, Florida.
The Illinois State Police will vigilantly enforce traffic laws and will
ticket other cars that attempt to illegally follow buses onto the shoulder.
A webinar has been scheduled to present the concept and guidelines to anyone
interested and unable to attend a public forum held earlier this week. The
webinar will be held Thursday, November 3 at 12 noon and will be posted
afterward to the PaceSuburbanBus YouTube channel. Webinar registration is
available at www.pacebus.com.
The program impacts Pace Express Routes 755 and 855, connecting free
Park-n-Rides in Plainfield, Romeoville, Bolingbrook and Burr Ridge with the
Illinois Medical District (755), and downtown Chicago (855). Visit
pacebus.com for more information.
ASSOCIATED PHOTO CAPTION: The coach buses that will be used on routes 755
and 855 for the Bus on Shoulder program feature high-backed reclining seats,
free Wi-Fi and a special livery that includes messaging that the bus is
authorized to use the shoulder.
Hybrids Come to Schaumburg's DART
The first Pace-owned hybrid vehicles in the agency's fleet are in operation
on the Village of Schaumburg's DART service, a local program offering
dial-a-ride service anywhere within Schaumburg and to Harper College in
Palatine. The vehicles were purchased for Pace by IDOT using federal TIGGER
(Transit Investments for Greenhouse Gas and Energy Reduction) funds. Pace
received ten of the hybrid vehicles from IDOT- the five now in use in
Schaumburg and the others operating Dial-a-Ride and paratransit service in
the Elgin Area.
Pace is carefully monitoring the performance of the hybrid vehicles as the
agency plans for future vehicle purchases and investment in green
technology. "Before making a large scale investment of taxpayer dollars, we
want to do our due diligence to review the various forms of green technology
available," said Pace Chairman of the Board Richard Kwasneski. "We want to
do what's going to be the most cost-effective and reliable in both the short
and long term." Pace is also reviewing data on the advantages of CNG-powered
vehicles.
For more information on Schaumburg's DART program, visit
www.ci.schaumburg.il.us.
The newsletter for stakeholders of America's most efficient suburban transit
agency www.pacebus.com Customer Relations: (847) 364-7223 Copyright 2011,
Pace Suburban Bus
Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®
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