New hours for trip reservations effective January 1--
Pace Suburban Bus reminds customers that the hours in which to place trip reservations for ADA Paratransit service for registered people with disabilities will change for most customers beginning January 1, 2012.
The new hours for service within Chicago will be 6 am – 6 pm every day of the week. Suburban riders can book trips between 6 am and 6 pm Monday-Friday, and between 8 am and 5 pm on Saturday and Sunday.
The change means that Chicago call centers will close one hour earlier in the evening, and standardizes the hours for suburban call centers, which currently vary somewhat by region.
Seeking to reduce costs and improve manual oversight of trip dispatching, the RTA required that Pace reduce telephone reservation hours to regular business hours. During public hearings in October, many paratransit customers commented that the change would be burdensome, especially for those that work or attend school during business hours. Pace relayed the feedback to RTA, and the compromise was made to reduce call center hours by only one in the evening to mitigate the impact on customers, yet allow additional time to review the next day’s travel manifests to ensure peak routing efficiency.
“We’re pleased that a solution was reached that works for our customers, but also achieves the goal of increasing travel planning oversight, which will improve efficiency and customer satisfaction,” said Richard Kwasneski, Chairman of the Pace Board of Directors.
There are no changes to fares or the phone numbers that passengers call to reserve trips. Reservation hours will not change for suburban non-ADA dial-a-ride service, nor the Ride DuPage and Ride in Kane programs.
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