On Nov. 10, Pace Suburban Bus celebrated the launch of the Pulse Dempster Line, which offers passengers a fast and reliable service. The service began daily operations on Oct. 29
“Ridership is already up approximately seven percent compared to last year, a promising statistic which shows that faster, more frequent service is a key part of bringing riders back to transit and attracting new passengers,” said Pace Chairman Rick Kwasneski.
The Pulse Dempster Line provides premium bus service with limited stops, modern stations and frequent service. Pulse Dempster’s purple-branded buses will run every 15 to 20 minutes, ensuring riders along Dempster Street in the northern suburbs reach destinations from Evanston to O’Hare International Airport more quickly.
Pace says Pulse Dempster buses communicate directly with traffic control to minimize red lights and lengthen green lights. Transit Signal Priority (TSP) technology leverages traffic signal timing adjustments with no impact to general traffic flow, allowing buses to navigate through congestion more efficiently to stay on schedule and reduce travel times for commuters.
TSP technology has been shown to reduce bus travel times in major cities throughout the country. The technology has helped reduce bus travel times up to 10 percent and reduce congestion up to 50 percent at certain intersections, according to the National Association of City Transportation Officials. TSP is also deployed on other high-traffic corridors for the benefit of Pace buses throughout the region.
Pulse Dempster Line service improves access to a variety of major destinations, schools, places of employment and more, including the O’Hare Multimodal Facility, Lutheran General Hospital, Maine East High School and Notre Dame High School. Pulse Dempster riders can easily connect to other Pace and Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) bus routes, the CTA Yellow and Purple lines, as well as Metra’s Union Pacific North, Northwest, and North Central Service rail lines.
“Commuting patterns have changed dramatically post-pandemic and adjusting to those changes, particularly in the suburbs, can be challenging. I am proud to say that Pace has embraced that challenge by making tremendous progress on the implementation of innovative, efficient and flexible service options to serve current riders and attract new riders to the system,” said Pace Executive Director Melinda Metzger.
Pulse Dempster buses come equipped with modern amenities for passengers on board, including free Wi-Fi service, as well as easy-to-find branded stations with heated shelters and real-time bus tracker information. Pulse Dempster also improves ADA accessibility, featuring raised bus platforms at all stations that conveniently melt ice and snow during inclement weather.
