New Express Routes Coming Soon.

[artthouwill]

2 hours ago, jajuan said:

Well considering that SW Division is operating the 856 and that route is a BOS route, it's not too much of a stretch that more than one bus is wrapped to operate the route under its present schedule structure, including two peak hour trips in each direction that are 30 mins apart. So at least two buses would need to be wrapped given rush hour trips are more likely to operate on the shoulder and the State Police requires bus be wrapped as BOS to do so. 

Also consider that there has to be at least one spare that is wrapped,  if not two,  in case of maintenance  or other issues.

[jajuan]

8 minutes ago, artthouwill said:

Also consider that there has to be at least one spare that is wrapped,  if not two,  in case of maintenance  or other issues.

Which would be more evidence to counter west towns's comment that it's more speculation than fact that more than one bus at SW is wrapped for BOS.

[Busjack]

Daily Herald article on the Jane Addams tollway construction wrapping up. Of interest in the embedded video is that there is a wrapped Pace Express bus, but it isn't the wrap with the "Authorized to use the shoulder" wedge.

[Pace831]

43 minutes ago, Busjack said:

Daily Herald article on the Jane Addams tollway construction wrapping up. Of interest in the embedded video is that there is a wrapped Pace Express bus, but it isn't the wrap with the "Authorized to use the shoulder" wedge.

It looks nearly the same as the one in the http://pacebus.com/pdf/Board_Minutes/System_Update_Q2-I90.pdf

[BusHunter]

Yeah they must have at least one bus wrapped. I'll have to check out that way and see what's new. 

I'm still trying to figure out how they are going to build a flyover that links directly from the Addams to the cumberland exit ramp. 

[west towns]

Flyover is an idot project.   i think it will go under the I 190 lanes come up on south end and end at off ramp to cumberland.  think deerfield road exist nb on I294

[artthouwill]

4 minutes ago, BusHunter said:

Yeah they must have at least one bus wrapped. I'll have to check out that way and see what's new. 

I'm still trying to figure out how they are going to build a flyover that links directly from the Addams to the cumberland exit ramp. 

Was thinking about it also.  Perhaps the flyover will go over I 90 and join Higgins which would take you to Cumberland. 

[BusHunter]

9 minutes ago, artthouwill said:

Was thinking about it also.  Perhaps the flyover will go over I 90 and join Higgins which would take you to Cumberland. 

Possible cause a flyover along the Kennedy would have to cross East River Road which crosses with its own bridge.

But they did say exit ramp so sounds like some way they plan to cross the Kennedy and give the flyover its own dedicated lane to the cumberland exit. That could be done using the shoulder or first lane without crossing east river any differently than the traditional traffic crosses it. I know the cumberland exit has a long dedicated lane already that almost extends to east river so the plan I think is to extend it further.

Another strange thing is adding a 4th lane cumberland to harlem. I dont see that happening without some excavating.

[Busjack]

Probably like the Hillside Strangler (I-88 to Mannheim) or I-94 jct I-80 to Torrence.

[BusHunter]

12 hours ago, Busjack said:

Daily Herald article on the Jane Addams tollway construction wrapping up. Of interest in the embedded video is that there is a wrapped Pace Express bus, but it isn't the wrap with the "Authorized to use the shoulder" wedge.

A still image has surfaced of the I-90 bus. It's still just far enough away that you can't make out the bus number.

http://www.dailyherald.com/storyimage/DA/20161118/NEWS/161118825/EP/1/1/EP-161118825.jpg&updated=201611181826&MaxW=800&maxH=800&noborder

 

 

[Busjack]

1 hour ago, BusHunter said:

A still image has surfaced of the I-90 bus. It's still just far enough away that you can't make out the bus number.

http://www.dailyherald.com/storyimage/DA/20161118/NEWS/161118825/EP/1/1/EP-161118825.jpg&updated=201611181826&MaxW=800&maxH=800&noborder

 

 

I tried magnifying it 300%, but still too indistinct. What can be noted is that there seems to be some "please do not follow the bus" legend (again not horribly clear) where the back fleet number usually is (next to the vent under the destination sign) and the fleet number is under the exhaust.

[BusHunter]

Well maybe if we're lucky I'll have an answer for us soon. I'll be checking on the progress this afternoon maybe something will be in service or I'll see it training or something.

[west towns]

Its not wrapped saying authorzed to use shoulder just pace express.

[jajuan]

17 hours ago, west towns said:

Its not wrapped saying authorzed to use shoulder just pace express.

That's not a surprise since the new restructured services incorporating the shoulder use during the rush hour are not starting until another three and a half weeks. The authorized to use the shoulder elements can still be added by then while the buses can be used now for what I-90 Pace routes already exist. By the way guys, placeholder listings with broken links for schedules and maps for 603, 604, 605, 607, and 608 have shown up on the Pace website. 603-607 show no route names yet just route numbers, and they have "No description available" in the route description part. 608 does have route name and service description in place though with the route description stating service begins December 19. None of the links to schedules and maps work yet for either route though as I stated above.

[Busjack]

1 hour ago, jajuan said:

The authorized to use the shoulder elements can still be added by then while the buses can be used now for what I-90 Pace routes already exist.

It doesn't look that way. Those buses have been running unwrapped for a while, the design conforms to the pamphlet,* if you compare this bus to 6387, the "Pace Express" is toward the back rather than the front, this bus includes the "Smart Road" and "I-90" logos, and, most importantly, it is going to run in a dynamic diamond lane. Now, maybe some sources are calling the diamond lane a shoulder, but they are legally distinct.

All @west towns did was come to the same conclusion I did above. There may be a question whether this was staged for the Daily Herald or Pace has started wrapping the 25 buses, which @BusHunter was going to investigate. If the bus was using a new ramp being demonstrated, it wouldn't have been on an existing route.

*Except perhaps for an advertising frame or equivalent partial wrap.

[jajuan]

17 minutes ago, Busjack said:

It doesn't look that way. Those buses have been running unwrapped for a while, the design conforms to the pamphlet,* if you compare this bus to 6387, the "Pace Express" is toward the back rather than the front, this bus includes the "Smart Road" and "I-90" logos, and, most importantly, it is going to run in a dynamic diamond lane. Now, maybe some sources are calling the diamond lane a shoulder, but they are legally distinct.

All @west towns did was come to the same conclusion I did above. There may be a question whether this was staged for the Daily Herald or Pace has started wrapping the 25 buses, which @BusHunter was going to investigate. If the bus was using a new ramp being demonstrated, it wouldn't have been on an existing route.

*Except perhaps for an advertising frame.

Ok we cleared up how the issue about this being dynamic diamond lanes. I wasn't saying that it was a ramp demonstration though. Simply an early debut of the wraps. And that can in fact can be done with the existing routes. 

[Busjack]

43 minutes ago, jajuan said:

I wasn't saying that it was a ramp demonstration though.

I didn't say you said. I was just surmising about the circumstances of the video.

[west towns]

Doubt they would wrap busses twice and re do with the authorized to use shoulder logos.   maybe they really dont need them since this is technically a lane and not shoulder

[west towns]

Which route is going exit at Meachem ?  there is only a wb off and wb on tamp so any service would have go another  way to enter or exit 1-90

[Busjack]

1 hour ago, west towns said:

Which route is going exit at Meachem ?  there is only a wb off and wb on tamp so any service would have go another  way to enter or exit 1-90

According to the map in the brochure, nothing, although I doubt that is in definitive detail.

You are correct abut the Meachem Road ramps (Tollway). It still seems I-90 to I-294 to Woodfield Drive would be the most direct access to the NWTC. Only possible  benefit would be for the westbound 607 Randall Rd.-Schaumburg.

The other thing that made me think that the shot was staged was that the rear destination sign was WELCOME ABOARD instead of 600 SCHAUMBURG.

[Busjack]

On 11/21/2016 at 11:21 PM, artthouwill said:

Was thinking about it also.  Perhaps the flyover will go over I 90 and join Higgins which would take you to Cumberland. 

IDOT page for the Cumberland flyover

Goes from I-90, crosses over I-190 eastbound and the Blue Line. then, as I indicated with regard to the I-88 and I-94 flyovers, traffic from I-190 O'Hare joins the flyover on the right side of I-190 but the left side of the ramp.

I wonder if this takes care of the problem that one time I was driving from O"Hare, about the only thing I could do is get off at Cumberland southbound, instead of trying to get on the Kennedy Expressway.

[Pace831]

While looking up the I-90 map, I noticed the restructuring initiatives page lists "I-55 Express Service Expansion (coming soon)". That wasn't there before, was it? Would this be referring to something more than 856?

[west towns]

Or it was to 'catch up' with the new projects

 

[west towns]

1 hour ago, Busjack said:

According to the map in the brochure, nothing, although I doubt that is in definitive detail.

You are correct abut the Meachem Road ramps (Tollway). It still seems I-90 to I-294 to Woodfield Drive would be the most direct access to the NWTC. Only possible  benefit would be for the westbound 607 Randall Rd.-Schaumburg.

The other thing that made me think that the shot was staged was that the rear destination sign was WELCOME ABOARD instead of 600 SCHAUMBURG.

And the tollway truck escort makes it look staged or a demo ride.  it sounds as if there was a press event with the information and pictures

[Busjack]

45 minutes ago, Pace831 said:

While looking up the I-90 map, I noticed the restructuring initiatives page lists "I-55 Express Service Expansion (coming soon)". That wasn't there before, was it? Would this be referring to something more than 856?

No link, so can't tell. Might also be a study associated with the I-55 Managed Lane proposal, discussed earlier.

The other thing I saw clicking on the brochure is that it includes Route 606, which I don't believe was there before. Maybe the highway buses on that route were not a fluke.