As some electric vehicle owners were shocked by below-zero operation issues recently, Pace officials unveiled their first battery-powered bus. Let’s hope the transit agency isn’t jolted by performance problems.
Outside of the Pace debut, it’s been a rough few weeks for what is supposed to be our automotive future. Electric vehicles are the cornerstone of the clean-energy policy of the administration of President Joe Biden in order to help reduce the nation’s carbon footprint.
That’s little consolation to EV owners who have found frigid weather drains battery life, reduces mileage range and increases charging time — if charging stations can be found quick enough. Apparently, there is a system involved in pre-charging EVs during stints of arctic temperatures.
A small wrinkle, perhaps, as technology continues to ramp up, and work on what is becoming a major hurdle for EV sales. After all, batteries in gasoline-fueled vehicles sometimes don’t work so well in cold weather. Or so I’m told.
On top of consumer complaints, Hertz announced recently it is dumping much of its EV rental fleet for cost-effectiveness reasons. Then, Ford said it will be shutting down one of two production shifts at a Michigan plant, which builds an electric pickup truck, because of the lack of consumer demand.
That followed a similar move by Chevrolet, which will postpone adding production facilities for its EV pickup. Although sales of electric vehicles increased in 2023, auto industry experts say the growth was slower than what had been expected, which they attribute to sticker shock.
Pace officials, however, see an electric-driven bus fleet as the key to efficient and environmentally sound policies in the decades to come. With that in mind, last week they displayed an electric bus now operating — after undergoing what was termed “rigorous testing” — on a route serving riders in the southwest suburbs.
Eventually, Pace aims to convert its entire fleet of more than 700 buses — an ambitious goal — to zero-emission vehicles by 2040. The transit agency, founded in 1983 by the RTA Act, has on order another 22 electric buses. Federal funding is paying for much of that hardware.
Ten of those future buses will be housed at the warm bus barn on 10th Street in Waukegan to serve Lake County’s Pace ridership of several thousand. The agency also has a bus facility on Half Day Road (Route 22) in Highland Park.
Lake County’s ridership is based mainly along the North Shore. Overall, according to 2022 data, Pace claims more than 18 million riders use its buses on 133 fixed-routes yearly, and thousands on a daily basis and through its paratransit vans and on-demand services. Its buses traveled about 26 million miles in 2022.
Headquartered in Arlington Heights, Pace bus routes serve some 274 municipalities in Lake, Cook, Will, DuPage, Kane and McHenry counties. According to the agency, it is one of the largest bus services in North America, covering 3,677 square miles. That’s an area nearly the size of Connecticut, and about 15 times the size of the city of Chicago.
Linda Soto, a former Hainesville mayor, is Lake County’s representative on the Pace Board of Directors, which oversees transit operations.
U.S. Sen. Dick Durban, D-Ill., said at a news conference last week at a Pace facility in west-suburban Broadview that the agency is, “embracing cutting-edge technology.” Durbin, who guided the EV bus-funding request through Congress, said a zero-emission fleet starts, “a broader conversation about the intersection of public transportation and environmental responsibility.”
Pace has worked to improve ridership in Lake County, most recently in October by expanding the Round Lake Area On Demand service, which more than doubled the service in west Lake County and added more vehicles to the program, which offers flexible weekday service.
Pace On Demand is a reservation-based, shared-ride service with seats reserved by phone or online. Fares are $2 with Ventra cards; $2.25 without.
Pace may be on board to cut fossil-fuel emissions, but as a state and nation we’ve got a long road ahead. The International Council on Clean Transportation says by 2030, the U.S. will need 2.4 million EV charging stations for drivers — including public, workplace and home — in a quick six years.
Government goals are to have a half-million charging stations by then. Yet, the U.S. currently only has an estimated 168,426 charging stations.
There’s a lot of EV infrastructure to install if climate benefits are to be met in the short run. Pace may make its green mandate, but don’t be stunned if the motoring public doesn’t.
Charles Selle is a former News-Sun reporter, political editor and editor.
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