Politics & Government

'Free' Bus May Cost: Village Suggests Route Changes

Two managers study routes, usage and suggest charging a 25-cent fare.

The Niles Free Bus may soon lose its middle name and cost 25 cents to ride. For seniors, a ride would cost 10 cents.

However, the village of Niles stands to save tens of thousands of dollars of taxpayers' money with the charge, in addition to route reconfigurations. Members of the Public Services Department worked for months to develop a plan, and they presented it to village trustees Sept. 27.

"By adjusting routes and times and eliminating holidays, we can save almost $40,000 a year. By charging a quarter a ride, we can make about $63,000 a year," said Scott Jochim, director of the Public Services Department.

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Earlier:

Trustees were looking for savings , when they directed staff to find ways to save money on the Free Bus, also called the Niles Courtesy Bus.

Find out what's happening in Niles-Morton Grovewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Village Manager George Van Geem charged Mike Haws, Fleet Manager for the Public Services Department, and Duane Paulus, Transportation Supervisor, to come up with a plan.

"My mission to them was to create a product we can be proud of but make it efficient so it doesn’t cost as much," Van Geem said Tuesday at an explanatory pre-meeting before the regular village board meeting.

Reconfiguring Routes

The village has 10 buses in its bus system, with eight operating daily and two spares, Paulus told the trustees. 

Currently, six buses run the 411 route, one runs the 412 and one runs the 413. 

"So we want to reduce the 411s from six buses to four. Instead of running every 30 minutes, they would run every 45 minutes," Paulus said. "Then we want to take the other two buses and add a north special because we have a heavy ridership from about 1:30 to 4 in the afternoons."

The 413 route would be extended, and with the last bus, Haws and Paulus hope to create a new route, an express bus from Civic Center Plaza (Oakton and Waukegan) to Golf Mill. 

"The other two buses would interact with that. So we would maximize service to ridership and knock out some of the waiting periods people have," Paulus said.

Why a 25-cent fare?

Trustee Andrew Prybylo asked the managers how they arrived at the 25-cent figure for the proposed fare.

"We were just trying to figure out a way to get a little bit of money coming in. It’s kind of hard to go from free to a dollar. So we looked at what 25 cents would do for us," said Haws, adding that riders would pay that fare every time they get on the bus. If they get on and off three times while running errands during a trip down Milwaukee Avenue, for example, they would pay the fare each time.

Trustee Louella Preston asked whether students would get a discount, and Haws replied that since the bus begins daily operation at 8:45 a.m., after most students are in school, it doesn't serve many students.

Trustee Joe LoVerde asked if there was a way to determine how many riders were Niles residents, but Przybylo countered that even if they weren't residents, they would likely be shopping and spending money in Niles.

Plan moving forward

Van Geem asked the trustees to informally indicate if they liked the plan so far and wanted to continue developing it, and most indicated "yes."

Haws said Thursday his department is moving forward on the plan.

"We feel if we restructure, our ridership will go up and we'll be able to give better service," he said.

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Current Niles bus service, according to Pace, includes:

Route 411 - Niles Local Service   
Provides service within the Village of Niles. Serves the Recreation Center, Civic Center Plaza, Leaning Tower YMCA, Trident Community Center, Dempster Plaza, Golf Mill Shopping Center, Library, Ballard Plaza and Notre Dame High School.
 
Route 412 - Niles Shopper's Special
   
Serves Golf Mill, Four Flaggs, Golf Glen and the areas in Niles north and west of Golf Mill including Big K-Mart and The Breakers.
 
Route 413 - Niles South End Special   
Serves the Village Crossing Shopping Center via Target on Touhy Avenue. Services provided to the Leaning Tower YMCA, Target, Costco, shops in Pointe Plaza, Aldi Foods, the Civic Center Plaza and the Village Crossing Shopping Center. Connects with Route 411.


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