By Townhall Chicago News Staff
Pace Suburban Bus on Wednesday released a sweeping draft plan to reshape its bus network across the Chicago suburbs, proposing a 50 percent increase in service that would bring more frequent routes, extended evening hours and seven-day-a-week operations to communities across six counties.
The plan, called ReVision, represents the most ambitious redesign of suburban bus service in decades. It is made possible by new transit funding under the Northern Illinois Transit Authority Act, which provided the region’s first major infusion of public transit dollars in years, according to the draft plan document.
Under the proposal, Pulse and Frequent routes would operate every 15 minutes until 9:30 p.m. and every 20 minutes until 12:30 a.m., seven days a week. Basic routes would run every 30 minutes until 9:30 p.m. on weekdays, with reduced but consistent weekend service. Coverage routes would operate every 60 minutes until 7 p.m. daily.
The frequency upgrades target corridors throughout the region. In north Cook County, routes along Touhy Road, Central Avenue and Algonquin Road would see service every 15 minutes or better. In west Cook County, Mannheim Road and 1st/5th Avenue would get similar treatment. South Cook County corridors along West 79th Street and Cicero Avenue would also see improved frequency, as would the I-90 express corridor from Elgin to Rosemont.
Additional corridors would be upgraded to 30-minute service, including routes in Lake County, DuPage County and Will County. Express service along I-290/I-88 from Forest Park to Oak Brook, continuing to Naperville via Ogden Avenue, is also proposed.
The plan would extend all-day bus service to suburban areas that currently lack regular coverage. New 30-minute service would reach Rand Road and Dundee Road in northwest Cook County, and communities including Addison, Wood Dale and Itasca in DuPage County. Sixty-minute service would expand to McHenry and Woodstock in McHenry County, and along Lincoln Highway between Joliet and Tinley Park.
On-demand service would be introduced in employment areas around I-55 in Bolingbrook and Romeoville.
The draft document highlights the challenges transit faces in suburban areas where population density is generally low, walkability is poor outside old town centers and destinations are often difficult to serve from main streets. Regional travel data showing strong weekend demand and increased evening ridership helped shape the plan’s emphasis on consistent service throughout the week.
Pace has already begun implementing service improvements on 12 routes since January 2026, including higher frequencies, longer service hours, better weekend service and route extensions. The ReVision plan builds on those changes with a broader network redesign.
The plan was prepared by Jarrett Walker + Associates, a transit planning firm. Nearly every bus line in the proposed network would operate seven days a week at the same frequency until at least 7 p.m., according to the draft document.
The proposal directly addresses a longstanding gap in suburban transit: the drop-off in service on evenings and weekends. Most retail and service workers are required to take at least one weekend shift per week, and those workers are also more likely than office workers to commute during evening hours, according to the plan.
Public feedback will play a role in shaping the final version of the plan. Pace is seeking community input on the draft proposal, with details on how to participate available on the agency’s website.
Source: Pace Suburban Bus News
