Academy/Pace operations.....

[PACE NORTHWEST]

6066 is at NW. It was on the 210 earlier.

[Guest]

6066 is at NW. It was on the 210 earlier.

Not to sound sarcastic but, whats your point?

[rotjohns]

Not to sound sarcastic but, whats your point?

He's implying that 6066 was from Pace West and apparently has been moved, but I'm questioning why that's on this post when it has nothing to do with Academy? And are you sure that was the 210? That's a North Shore route and there are NO Orions up there.

[Guest]

Word came down today that the Pace contract at Academy will cease operations in June.

The three remaining Academy routes, according to a NW driver I spoke with today will be reassigned to Pace NW garage.

[artthouwill]

Word came down today that the Pace contract at Academy will cease operations in June.

The three remaining Academy routes, according to a NW driver I spoke with today will be reassigned to Pace NW garage.

It was only a matter of time. Now Colonial can concentrate on being just a bad coach company (a large one though).

[rotjohns]

Word came down today that the Pace contract at Academy will cease operations in June.

The three remaining Academy routes, according to a NW driver I spoke with today will be reassigned to Pace NW garage.

So what does that mean for all the Academy buses? Any idea yet as to where they will head? More importantly, what does that mean for you?

[artthouwill]

So what does that mean for all the Academy buses? Any idea yet as to where they will head? More importantly, what does that mean for you?

Hopefully the Academy drivers will get a chance to stick with Colonial.

As far as equipment goes, I would expect a swap of Pace West's Orions for Academy's NABIs. For some reason, Pace NW (to my knowledge) has never had any NABIs and I don't expect them to. Who knows if Pace NW will even get any more Eldorados to operate the 616. I think at leat the 606 will get buses with a little more room on them. That's what I believe will happen. I'm not in the know, so I am only specualating.

[Guest]

Hopefully the Academy drivers will get a chance to stick with Colonial.

As far as equipment goes, I would expect a swap of Pace West's Orions for Academy's NABIs. For some reason, Pace NW (to my knowledge) has never had any NABIs and I don't expect them to. Who knows if Pace NW will even get any more Eldorados to operate the 616. I think at leat the 606 will get buses with a little more room on them. That's what I believe will happen. I'm not in the know, so I am only specualating.

Im expecting the drivers to, for the most part stick with Colonial with the summer tour season upon us, drivers will be needed. I dont know if I will stay on. Im not too enthusiastic about operating the charters, I only enjoyed driving the Pace runs. With Pace routes gone, I dont think there will be a reason for me to stay, we'll see. In my three years there, Ive met some good people, its been fun, I really enjoyed it, I will certainly miss it. Hopefully something will change for the better.

[rotjohns]

Hopefully the Academy drivers will get a chance to stick with Colonial.

As far as equipment goes, I would expect a swap of Pace West's Orions for Academy's NABIs. For some reason, Pace NW (to my knowledge) has never had any NABIs and I don't expect them to. Who knows if Pace NW will even get any more Eldorados to operate the 616. I think at leat the 606 will get buses with a little more room on them. That's what I believe will happen. I'm not in the know, so I am only specualating.

Hope things work out for you CTA5750.

As far as equipment, Pace NW doesn't own any Nabis and don't expect them to anytime soon, remember they recently got Orion 6066 from West. I think that any 93 Orions will bite the dust unless there are worse ones somewhere else that they can replace. I'd look for all of the Nabis to head to W and free up more Orions to head to NW. But I'm curious, there used to be an Eldorado or 2 on the now defunct 637, which NW ran. What happened to them?

[MVTArider]

Im expecting the drivers to, for the most part stick with Colonial with the summer tour season upon us, drivers will be needed. I dont know if I will stay on. Im not too enthusiastic about operating the charters, I only enjoyed driving the Pace runs. With Pace routes gone, I dont think there will be a reason for me to stay, we'll see. In my three years there, Ive met some good people, its been fun, I really enjoyed it, I will certainly miss it. Hopefully something will change for the better.

Good luck with finding something else. Sorry to hear you won't be able to drive Academy Pace runs anymore Is it possible you could get hired by Pace to drive for another division or would that not work well?

Also i'm guessing equipment wise if 2301 is still running it'll finish it's last run on May 31st and then be driven/towed straight to the scrapyard after being parted :lol:

[MetroShadow]

But I'm curious, there used to be an Eldorado or 2 on the now defunct 637, which NW ran. What happened to them?

Between a run on the 221, and more than likely on a 223 during the weekends.

[trainman8119]

Word came down today that the Pace contract at Academy will cease operations in June.

The three remaining Academy routes, according to a NW driver I spoke with today will be reassigned to Pace NW garage.

What does this mean for the future of Pace contracting out routes ? Many people begged for 606 (for example) to go to NW for years, but it was often said that Pace could not afford to have one of their own divisions operate that route. Now, for some reason, this contract is not renewed and NW has gained a number of routes because of it. With the reduction in Metra feeders, could more contract cancellations not be far behind, and will Pace be canning more routes if/when that happens ? I am also seeing indications that UPS is wanting to do away with a lot of their routes too.

[rotjohns]

What does this mean for the future of Pace contracting out routes ? Many people begged for 606 (for example) to go to NW for years, but it was often said that Pace could not afford to have one of their own divisions operate that route. Now, for some reason, this contract is not renewed and NW has gained a number of routes because of it. With the reduction in Metra feeders, could more contract cancellations not be far behind, and will Pace be canning more routes if/when that happens ? I am also seeing indications that UPS is wanting to do away with a lot of their routes too.

CTA5750 can correct me on this if I am wrong, but in Academy's case, it may have been more expensive to run that route from Academy than from it's own NW division. Pace is looking to cut costs now and declining ridership (w/UPS for example) is forcing them to can these routes. And Metra feeders have always been expensive to run. With the exception of Naperville and Lisle, most of the other routes are not at capacity from what I see.

[Busjack]

What does this mean for the future of Pace contracting out routes ? Many people begged for 606 (for example) to go to NW for years, but it was often said that Pace could not afford to have one of their own divisions operate that route. Now, for some reason, this contract is not renewed and NW has gained a number of routes because of it. With the reduction in Metra feeders, could more contract cancellations not be far behind, and will Pace be canning more routes if/when that happens ? I am also seeing indications that UPS is wanting to do away with a lot of their routes too.

CTA5750 can correct me on this if I am wrong, but in Academy's case, it may have been more expensive to run that route from Academy than from it's own NW division. Pace is looking to cut costs now and declining ridership (w/UPS for example) is forcing them to can these routes. And Metra feeders have always been expensive to run. With the exception of Naperville and Lisle, most of the other routes are not at capacity from what I see.

I certainly have less idea what goes on inside than trainman, but it does seem like there are several things going on that are not what rotjohns is thinking.

1) With the labor practices that people have described at Academy (on call, instead of being guaranteed a certain amount of work, like, say 30 hours) it is hard to conceive how they would be more expensive than a Pace division. I have the feeling that to avoid layoffs at the divisions, they took back some work from contractors over whom, as trainman as previously pointed out, Pace has little control.

One thing I figure is that even though Pace's unions are fragmented, the contracts have provisions against contracting out existing work. Hence, what Pace took from Academy is not coming back. That would mean that Pace, for the first time,will be operating all of the standard fixed route service, leaving contractors the more iffy feeder and I-55 routes.

2) With respect to feeders, most are contract operations, and hence subject to cancellation on short notice. The exceptions are the North and North Shore reverse feeders. Thus, the cost of most routes in DuPage County could theoretically be cut pretty quickly.

3) The UPS, and as RailwayModeler put it, North "corporate routes" raise a different question. As RailwayModeler pointed out, North loses 5 buses, and you would think they wouldn't need a proportionate number of drivers after losing 574 and 580-583, but picking up a run on 570. Similarly, with UPS dropping a bunch of routes, one would think that positions are being lost around the divisions. However, with all divisions except North Shore advertising for operators, is attrition that high?

[Guest]

Well many are getting their wish, Academy is losing the Pace contract! Period! Some like it! Some dont!!

[PACE 834]

Good luck with finding something else. Sorry to hear you won't be able to drive Academy Pace runs anymore Is it possible you could get hired by Pace to drive for another division or would that not work well?

(Also i'm guessing equipment wise if 2301 is still running it'll finish it's last run on May 31st and then be driven/towed straight to the scrapyard after being parted )

I found out today@South Holland that 2301(among other Orions) is on the scrap line and won't be returning to service. :(

[rotjohns]

I found out today@South Holland that 2301(among other Orions) is on the scrap line and won't be returning to service.

Is 2301 there now? Or will it run until the end of May?

[Busjack]

I found out today@South Holland that 2301(among other Orions) is on the scrap line and won't be returning to service.

Is 2301 there now? Or will it run until the end of May?

I though that Pace 834 was pretty clear about that.

Pace 834: Any word on what others have met that fate?

[PACE 834]

I though that Pace 834 was pretty clear about that.

Pace 834: Any word on what others have met that fate?

I can get a list of those due to be scrapped and post it tomorrow.

[PACE 834]

I can get a list of those due to be scrapped and post it tomorrow.

Here is a list of the Orion 1's on the dead line@South Holland as of 4-21-10

2275

2306

2310

2311

2312

2326

2343

2353

2359

2362

2374

:(

[rotjohns]

Here is a list of the Orion 1's on the dead line@South Holland as of 4-21-10

2275

2306

2310

2311

2312

2326

2343

2353

2359

2362

2374

Wow, and 2275 was at Westmont not too long ago. In fact, I think that was the bus that when I passed by its lot a few months ago around rush hour, it was the only bus still there while the rest of the buses were gone. So you knew something was wrong with it.

[Busjack]

Thanks. Not much of any with which I am familiar, except that I thought 2353 and 2359 were recently on NW routes.

I guess this list is a work in progress, given that RailwayModeler indicated that five North ones would soon be on the list.

I also saw on WebWatch that 6631 was on an Academy route, so maybe it was traded.

[Guest]

Good luck with finding something else. Sorry to hear you won't be able to drive Academy Pace runs anymore Is it possible you could get hired by Pace to drive for another division or would that not work well?

Also i'm guessing equipment wise if 2301 is still running it'll finish it's last run on May 31st and then be driven/towed straight to the scrapyard after being parted

I applied for a position at Pace North Shore, I took their video test, passed it. Got an interview two weeks ago. They make me go to N.S. just to tell me that I was highly qualified, I was their ideal candidate but they couldnt work with my schedule even after I explained it to them. I wasant vey happy, I was pissed not to mention insulted! They couldve saved me the hassle of driving there by just telling me over the phone. It was b.s.!

[Busjack]

I don't want to be mean, especially with someone's livelihood in these tough times, and refrained from replying until now. Also, I agree with your point that they shouldn't have bothered you with the interview process if they could have said upfront that they couldn't accommodate your fire department schedule.

Trying to state the point more neutrally, and I am sure that trainman and RailwayModeler will back me up, is that it looks like North Shore is pretty much dependent on what RailwayModeler calls corporate routes, and North runs three times the service during school run times than the rest of the day, when it could get by with, I guess 18 or so of its 44 buses. Then you have to figure that NS lost half of its Saturday runs, making scheduling there even tougher. So, neither has much flexibility. Something like West might be more flexible, in that it doesn't seem to be so dependent on school and reverse feeder routes, but given that it appears that Pace did its darnedest to try to avoid layoffs in the divisions, I don't know.

[Guest]

I don't want to be mean, especially with someone's livelihood in these tough times, and refrained from replying until now. Also, I agree with your point that they shouldn't have bothered you with the interview process if they could have said upfront that they couldn't accommodate your fire department schedule.

Trying to state the point more neutrally, and I am sure that trainman and RailwayModeler will back me up, is that it looks like North Shore is pretty much dependent on what RailwayModeler calls corporate routes, and North runs three times the service during school run times than the rest of the day, when it could get by with, I guess 18 or so of its 44 buses. Then you have to figure that NS lost half of its Saturday runs, making scheduling there even tougher. So, neither has much flexibility. Something like West might be more flexible, in that it doesn't seem to be so dependent on school and reverse feeder routes, but given that it appears that Pace did its darnedest to try to avoid layoffs in the divisions, I don't know.

Maybe youre right but I went with the hope that considering my flexible schedule, they had one operator position open, my transit background and experience, they would be willing to make an exception. Of course NS does not run much on sat and nothing sunday so that would leave only weekdays. I remember Colonial was not too cooperative in the beginning when I applied there but they eventually called me back after I resigned because of one person there who had just passed recently, Bob Thomas, god rest his soul! He was a retired CTA operator who understood my situation, he saw that I still had interest in the job and he managed to work out a schedule for me. He was the one who convinced management at Colonial to reconsider my employment request and three years later, its worked out great! I was kind of hoping for the same at Pace NS, but unfortunately it wasant to be. But perhaps I shouldnt be bitter, I deeply understand that there are people out there who are struggling, looking for work considering our economic status right now. I really dont have the right to complain.