A countywide riding system that will provide low-cost transportation to those 60 and over or with disabilities is close to becoming a reality, but an agreement between Lake County and Pace Suburban Bus will still have to be worked out.
If the resolution is approved at the Lake County Board meeting Tuesday, county staff will have the go-ahead to begin negotiating with Pace to formally create a borderless paratransit service that will give rides to people in need for as low as $2.
Those negotiations would include an intergovernmental agreement that lays out the parameters for the service. Officials believe the service, titled “Ride Lake County,” will be operational by May 2022.
At the county’s Public Works, Planning and Transportation Committee meeting Wednesday, officials also tinkered with the pricing for the service. The new pricing calls for flat rates based on the distance traveled, and lowers the costs to riders.
Rides five miles and shorter will cost $2, while those up to 10 miles will cost $4. Any trips more than 10 miles will cost $6. In the beginning, the system will be cash-only, but more payment methods are expected in the future. Previously, the first five miles were to cost a flat $5 with 50 cents for each additional mile.
County officials said Pace expects about 59,000 rides annually, costing the county between $640,000 and $1.12 million out of pocket. The service will operate seven days a week, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., except for holidays.
In a few meetings dating back to August 2021, officials have stressed the need for the service to help cover the entire county, as opposed to ride services that only help within a township. Some residents who have given feedback have noted issues like their doctor being in a different township, which leaves them needing to use a patchwork of rides to get there.
Before voting to approve the resolution and sending it off to the full County Board, members of the committee talked about how long the process leading up to this had taken, with many longtime members pointing out the work toward this service had lasted since they got onto the board.
“This is really exciting,” District 21 board member Ann Maine said. “I’ve watched this for a long, long time, and always been concerned about when it was only serving part of the county. So … thanks to all the many, many people who’ve donated their time and worked on this.”
Maine’s represents include Riverwoods, Lincolnshire, Bannockburn, Mettawa and Green Oaks.
Both District 1 board member Linda Pedersen and District 18 board member Julie Simpson said they were happy with the pricing change, with Simpson suggesting other ways to give people discounts. Pedersen represents Antioch and Old Mill Creek; while Simpson represents Vernon Hills, Indian Creek and other portions of central Lake County.
District 16 board member Terry Wilke brought up a concern with the structure of the program’s mainlines. Shane Schneider, director of transportation for the county, said the goal would be to eventually move to an on-demand type of system, but currently that is not ready.
As it stands, the program currently includes a central route covering the Fremont, Libertyville and Shields Townships, while a western route includes Antioch, Grant, Lake Villa, Avon, Wauconda and Fremont townships, according to the county’s website. Along those routes, main destinations are highlighted, with some rides able to take place outside of those specific routes.
“It’s probably not surprising to anyone that riders aren’t using the service if the mainlines don’t make any sense,” Wilke said. Wilke represents portions of Round Lake and Round Lake Beach.