Officials of the Pace suburban bus agency are again grappling with a decline in ridership.
Last year, the Arlington Heights-based agency reported a 4 percent drop in passengers compared with 2000. During a board meeting Wednesday, officials announced the number of riders dropped by 8.5 percent for the first four months this year. There were 11.3 million riders during that time, compared with 12.4 million riders last year.
During a preliminary 2002 budget presentation, Dominick Cuomo, Pace’s chief financial officer, forecast that the number of Pace riders could decline 5 percent by the end of the year. Using a worst-case scenario, the loss of riders, combined with the possibility of losing state half-fare reimbursement funds for disabled and elderly riders and lower investment income, could leave Pace with a $1.7 million deficit at the end of the year.
“Fare-box recovery will continue to perform unfavorably if the current trend in ridership continues,” Cuomo said.
The bus company must collect 40 percent of its operating costs from fares. Officials also said that during the first quarter, the company has met that fare-box recovery ratio.
Last year, 37 million passengers rode Pace buses, compared with 38.6 million in 2000. Fares have increased 35 cents in two years.
In other action, officials announced that the agency will conduct public hearings on service reductions on two routes: Elgin/UPS-Palatine 556 and Melrose/Sears Prairie Stone 1015.
A public hearing on Route 556 will be held at 9 a.m. June 27 at the UPS facility at 2100 N. Hicks Rd., Palatine. The hearing on Route 1015 will be held at noon June 26 at Sears, 3333 Beverly Rd., in Hoffman Estates.
