Pace is increasing buses on certain routes in Cook, DuPage and Lake counties.
Daily Herald File Photo

As ridership grows, Pace is expanding service on a number of popular routes in Cook, DuPage and Lake counties.

Upgrades in service hours and frequency began this week as part of the suburban bus agency’s commitment to strengthening its network and providing what passengers want, officials said.

“Pace recently served the highest monthly total of riders throughout our entire system since the COVID-19 pandemic began, carrying more than 2 million riders this past October,” Executive Director Melinda Metzger said in a statement.

“Pace is reimagining our transit network to meet customers’ evolving needs, and our riders have responded accordingly.”

Here are some specifics on improvements to northwest suburban trips being offered as pilot projects.

• Additional trips plus increased service hours and frequency on Route 322, between Yorktown Center in Lombard and Cicero.

• Extra trips and longer service hours on weekends on Route 301, between the Forest Park CTA stop and the Wheaton Metra station.

• New weekend service on Route 563, between downtown Waukegan and North Chicago, including Great Lakes Naval Station.

• Longer hours of service and extra trips on weekdays on Route 564 between downtown Waukegan and Fountain Square.

• Three more Saturday trips on Route 565 between the Waukegan Metra station and the College of Lake County.

• Additional trips weekdays and Saturdays on Route 569 between North Chicago and Waukegan, and Route 571 between Waukegan and Zion.

Pace leaders are reinventing the agency with hopes of dramatically expanding service, assuming an increase in state funding.

Two scenarios are under consideration — one that would offer more buses in busy commuter areas, and another that would expand service across the region but typically not bus frequency.

Riders can find out more about Pace’s Revision plan and fill out a survey at pacebus.com/revision.