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Pace Suburban Bus (Pace) is a transit system serving suburban communities in the Chicago metropolitan area. Pace also is the sole paratransit provider in northeastern Illinois, operating one of the largest paratransit services in the United States for riders with disabilities.
Pace is one of the three service boards financially supported by the Regional Transportation Authority. The three service boards, including Pace, Metra, and the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), were created by the 1983 RTA Act. The law, in part, unified disparate suburban bus agencies that existed at the time and established the formula that provides funding to the service boards, which make up the transit network in northeastern Illinois.
Today, Pace’s family of services provides transit options for residents living in 274 municipalities located throughout Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will counties. As one of the largest bus providers in North America, Pace covers 3,677 square miles, an area that is about 15 times the size of the Chicago, serving approximately 127,000 daily riders.
Pace is headquartered in Arlington Heights, Illinois, and the agency is governed by a 13-member Board of Directors, 12 of which are current and former suburban mayors who represent their respective communities in the northeastern Illinois region. The remaining director is the Commissioner of the Chicago Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities, who represents the Chicago's paratransit riders.
Many of Pace's route terminals are located at CTA rail stations and bus terminals and Metra stations. The CTA and Pace have shared a payment system since 2014 called Ventra. Ventra accounts are required to obtain transfers. In 2015, Metra was added to the Ventra app.
Pace buses generally have longer bus routes than CTA buses. Due to its geographic service area, service is provided by nine operating divisions (see below), as well as under agreements with several municipalities and private operators (school bus and motor coach companies).
The Pulse program delivers fast and frequent fixed-route bus service to riders, enhanced on-board amenities, and a streamlined route design in some of the most populated corridors in the region. Pulse continues to grow with new lines being finalized for the southern suburbs of northeastern Illinois.
The Pulse Dempster Line inaugural run was on August 13, 2023, with a full launch on October 29, 2023. The route connects to the Chicago "L" with the CTA Purple Line's station and the CTA Yellow Line's station. It also connects to Metra stations at on the Union Pacific North Line and on the Union Pacific Northwest Line.
In addition, major regional corridors, including Harlem, Touhy, Western, and North avenues, are included in Pace’s near-term Pulse priority corridor network. Routing, station locations, and other transit access improvements will be developed in the future. These corridors were selected to build upon existing ridership and provide competitive mobility and connectivity for those living and working along existing and future Pulse lines.
Pace currently operates three expressway-based routes with work underway to add a fourth express bus service along I-290/I-88 that would connect riders in the western suburbs of the region to the City of Chicago.
Since 2011, Pace has expanded its service along the I-55 corridor several times. Most recently, Pace established a pilot program in August 2024 to expand weekday service along many routes that make up the I-55 Express service. The response from riders has allowed Pace to propose making the service expansion permanent. In fact, service along the I-55 corridor saw a 7.7 percent increase in year-over-year ridership from January 2024 to January 2025.
As part of the Illinois Tollway’s Central Tri-State construction project, flex lanes will be constructed along the Tri-State Tollway (I-294), allowing Pace to expand its use of expressway-based routes to more areas in northeastern Illinois.
Paratransit service is required by the federal Americans with Disabilities Act and is provided for customers whose disability or health condition prevents them from using CTA and/or Pace fixed-route services for some or all of their travel. Trips are only provided at the same times and within the same geographic areas as fixed-route service. Riders with disabilities also have access to other reservation-based services and Pace’s fixed-route service, which includes free fares for ADA certified riders. Pace buses also are completely equipped and accessible to people with disabilities.
In recent years, Pace has introduced an easier trip-planning program for ADA certified riders. The TripCheck mobile app allows riders with disabilities to track rides, and view and cancel reservations without the need to call in advance. It also is available in English, Spanish, and Polish.
Pace also coordinates various dial-a-ride services. Dozens of Pace demand-response programs operate throughout the suburbs of northeastern Illinois, including county-wide services and local dial-a-rides. In most cases, Pace has a financial partnership with a county, city, or township to pay for and operate the service. These demand-response programs have different rules on fares, geographic boundaries, and passenger eligibility.
Vanpool riders pay a low monthly fare to Pace based on distance, participant frequency, and group size. Pace offers flexible vanpool fares for hybrid, reduced work weeks, and regular work shifts. Riders can increase their savings by inviting more commuters to join, becoming backup drivers, or applying for a tax-free commuter benefit or employer subsidy.
In 2022, Pace launched a new vanpool alternative, called VanGo, allowing commuters to reserve a van for a day to get to work and travel locations within a defined zone based around train stations in the region. VanGo provides another means for commuters without access to a personal vehicle to travel to and from their jobs from the train station, go out for lunch on breaks, and complete other trips within the defined zone. There are currently four VanGo zones near train stations in Deerfield, Itasca and Rosemont, Lake Forest, and Palatine.
Under the Municipal Vanpool Program, Pace provides a van to a municipality for any purpose (such as demand response service for senior citizens).
In summer 2024, Pace formally opened its South Campus in Markham, Illinois, which includes administrative offices and a state-of-the-art bus acceptance facility for admitting and testing new vehicles to its fleet.
| Fox Valley | North Aurora | Aurora and Naperville areas |
| Heritage | Plainfield | Will County, Joliet, and southwest suburbs |
| North | Waukegan | Lake County |
| North Shore | Evanston | North Cook County and southeast Lake County |
| Northwest | Des Plaines | Northwest Cook County |
| River | Elgin | Greater Elgin Area and far western suburbs |
| South | Markham | South Cook County, South Side of Chicago, and DuPage County |
| Southwest | Bridgeview | Southwest Cook County and South Side of Chicago |
| West | Melrose Park | West Cook County and DuPage County |
In January 2024, Pace entered its first battery-electric bus into service. The Gillig battery-electric bus primarily operates along Pace Route 381 in the south suburbs.
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