After six months of negotiations, Pace and Niles village leaders have approved a new contract to continue the free bus service in the community.
“Drivers are being retrained and buses should be back on the streets no later than the end of March,” Niles Mayor George D. Alpogianis told Pioneer Press. Village officials put the brakes on bus routes 410, 411 and 412 in September when they discovered they were no longer insured by Pace.
Village trustees unanimously approved the two-year contract at a special meeting last month. As part of the agreement, Pace will provide 10, Pace-owned, 15-passenger vehicles that are ADA compliant and the village of Niles will obtain and maintain an insurance transit policy and indemnify, defend and hold harmless Pace, its directors, officers, employees, and agents. Pace also agreed to reimburse the village of Niles for the insurance premium cost up to $10,130 for the 2026 plan, which runs from Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, 2026, according to the resolution approved by trustees.
In addition, Pace promises to reimburse the village of Niles for service from June 1, 2024 through Sept. 13, 2025, when the contract lapsed, Alpogianis said. The transit service also will continue to nearly two-thirds of the $1.7 million program, about $1,088,000. The village’s share will be about $622,000.
“I’m happy about it,” Alpogianis said. “State Sen. Ram Villivalam’s office worked collaboratively with us to get it to the point for us to resign. It’s pretty much the same contract we had previously.”
Niles suspended its free in-town Pace bus service last fall blaming a dispute with the suburban commuter bus company over paying insurance. Pace officials said at that time that they had offered to temporarily cover that cost.
Previously, Pace spokeswoman Maggie Daly Skogsbakken told Pioneer Press that Pace made a policy change in 2022 to no longer provide insurance for fixed route buses when the company does not directly manage the service or personnel. She said the policy approach allows Pace to “better manage risk, ensure fairness across communities, and focus resources on providing reliable transit service.”
“Pace and Niles have been partners for decades, and we’re pleased that an agreement has been reached to continue that long-standing collaboration,” Skogsbakken said in an email statement to Pioneer Press. “Pace values this partnership and the essential service it provides to residents. More information about the return of service will be shared soon.”
Alpogianis said the village is still working on collecting ridership numbers and reviewing routes.
“We agreed verbally we would look at the routes to more efficiently service the citizens,” Alpogianis said. “Some routes overlap paid routes. Instead of overlapping, we may just start new routes.”
Meanwhile, Niles voters will have an opportunity to cast their votes March 17 on the bus service in Niles. The referendum will ask if the village shall continue to provide free bus service at an annual cost of roughly $650,000 to the municipality.
“We want people to know what we’re paying and let them decide,” Alpogianis said.
