Pace Gillig Hybrid Buses

[rotjohns]

On 5/9/2026 at 7:38 PM, pokemonprime said:

One fun thing I saw today; 25522 temporarily had the wrong headsign, but not just that: a headsign for the long defunct Route 907 Oswego-Aurora Shuttle (from what I can tell, this died in 2014 and was handed over to Kendall Area Transit before being fully discontinued in 2016 with the closure of the Park-n-Ride in Oswego. )

 

(emoji bc the driver said something about not wanting to be photographed)

For those looking to photograph these new busses, they can be found in spades at Joliet Gateway Center, and I observed quite a conga line of them returning out of service down Plainfield Road near the Plainfield/Raynor/Black intersection. 

I wonder why that route isn't "deleted" from Pace's system?  

[MetroShadow]

7 hours ago, rotjohns said:

I wonder why that route isn't "deleted" from Pace's system?  

Ops still have codes from the late 90s; relatively easier to keep and add them. 

[Busjack]

On 5/3/2026 at 12:36 AM, Busjack said:

 

 

The Bid Results page has Gillig slightly cheaper than New Flyer: $321,813,500.00  to $ 328,625,000.00.

If the price is for the whole 250 buses, that's a little less than $1.3 million per bus.

 

On the May 2026 agenda: Contract award to Gillig.

[Busjack]

On 5/16/2026 at 1:46 PM, Busjack said:

On the May 2026 agenda: Contract award to Gillig.

Discussed here at the May 2026 meeting. In addition to what was said with relation to the MCI contract about current needs and an additional ordinance for future purchases (see here), the contract has language that CTA can piggyback off it.

The initial order of 8 is for 35' buses for R, so I guess the bus moves from H to R are not going to get rid of all of R's junk.

[andrethebusman]

25500-25512 40 G30D North Shore

25514-25537 35 G30B Heritage 

25538-25547 40 G30D Northwest

[Busjack]

5 hours ago, andrethebusman said:

25500-25512 40 G30D North Shore

25514-25537 35 G30B Heritage 

25538-25547 40 G30D Northwest

I guess Pulse only got 10 and NW keeps 6510-6512, 6514-6521. IDK why NS would need 13.

[artthouwill]

Today there were 2 Gillg Hybrids going NB on I 294 on the shoulder between North Ave and Grand.  

[Busjack]

Chicagoland Transit video mostly of hybrid buses outside the Joliet TC (along with a Highland Park hybrid and some shots along 95th of the BEB). As implied by @MetroShadow's pictures outside the factory, the 25500s have a really big --- rear destination signs.

[chitowndude84]

Spied in hayward @ Gillig plant

 

[rotjohns]

5 hours ago, chitowndude84 said:

Spied in hayward @ Gillig plant

 

Looks like at least 2 35-footers.  Surprised not the 40s.  

[Busjack]

45 minutes ago, rotjohns said:

Looks like at least 2 35-footers.  Surprised not the 40s.  

25533 and 25536 haven't tracked yet

[Elkmn]

Spotted a hybrid gillig at north shore

[Busjack]

47 minutes ago, Elkmn said:

Spotted a hybrid gillig at north shore

Any place in particular (i.e. outside the garage or on what route)?

[Elkmn]

22 hours ago, Busjack said:

Any place in particular (i.e. outside the garage or on what route)?

South of the garage. Spotted it off of the yellow line. Might just be there for training.

[Busjack]

1 hour ago, Elkmn said:

South of the garage. Spotted it off of the yellow line. Might just be there for training.

That's what I figured. They need training first, but Metzger said some were going to NS, and @andrethebusman99 said 13 of them.

[ycu2455]

Today’s SF MUNI Instagram account shows a test vehicle in Pace livery. The number is 26506.

[chgofan78]

25512 in service today on the 210 Lincoln Ave.

[Busjack]

30 minutes ago, chgofan78 said:

25512 in service today on the 210 Lincoln Ave.

Only ones tracking on @maths22's Run History are 25501, 25504, and 25505. But the times are screwed up. On the other hand, Pace Bus Tracker shows only 1 bus when there should be 2, so maybe it isn't tracking.

Pace Bus Tracker shows 25506 on 423.

But, anyway, the NS rollout is happening.

 

[MetroShadow]

On 6/30/2026 at 1:21 PM, ycu2455 said:

Today’s SF MUNI Instagram account shows a test vehicle in Pace livery. The number is 26506.

While SFMTA hadn’t had a Gillig in the fleet since the 2800’s (a decade), perhaps this test could help with their (several?) BEB RFP opportunities.

[TaylorTank1229]

25506 currently NB on 210.

[Mnbaco]

25501 is on 423 today

[Mnbaco]

Update on last post, Pace also ran 25500 on 423

[Elkmn]

Oh my gosh they're amazing

[rotjohns]

One item I noticed yesterday with the Heritage 25500s, the flip sign takes a full 10 seconds between changes.  So for the 834 which needs 3 flips, it reads Joliet-DG for 10 seconds, then Joliet TC for 10 seconds, then Via 63rd or 75th street for 10 seconds.  So say you're at the Downers Grove Metra station about to catch this bus going Southbound and you need to get off at 63rd/Woodard.  You gotta wait potentially up to 20 seconds to see which route this is?  I know there's timetables and other technology factors, but 10 seconds between flips seems a bit long to me.  Not sure if that's the case with the North Shore buses.

[artthouwill]

4 hours ago, rotjohns said:

One item I noticed yesterday with the Heritage 25500s, the flip sign takes a full 10 seconds between changes.  So for the 834 which needs 3 flips, it reads Joliet-DG for 10 seconds, then Joliet TC for 10 seconds, then Via 63rd or 75th street for 10 seconds.  So say you're at the Downers Grove Metra station about to catch this bus going Southbound and you need to get off at 63rd/Woodard.  You gotta wait potentially up to 20 seconds to see which route this is?  I know there's timetables and other technology factors, but 10 seconds between flips seems a bit long to me.  Not sure if that's the case with the North Shore buses.

Or you can either

A.  Listen to the announcement when boarding or

B.  Ask the driver or

C.  Check the schedule or even download it..

 

That said, I think 10 seconds is too long.  I think 5 msy work better. But I think maybe they are trying to make sure pro have ample enough time to read the sign.

 

As an example,  the messages on the CTA 5000 series trains are faster than those on the 7000 series trains.  I prefer the speed of the 5000s but you have more time to read the 7000s.  However you may not get to read the entire message if another announcement comes.