Pulse express bus service on Milwaukee Ave to start Aug. 11

by BRIAN NADIG

The Pace Pulse express bus service between the Jefferson Park CTA Terminal and the Golf Mill shopping center in Niles is scheduled to start Sunday, Aug. 11, although passengers will be using temporary boarding areas at some stops until work is completed.

The Pulse service is expected to shave several minutes off the normal commute between Golf Mill and Jefferson Park, a route which is covered by Pace Route 270. Pace plans to implement some reductions in the Route 270 schedule when the Pulse service starts.

The Pulse service will be making limited stops, and the buses will be equipped with transit signal priority technology, which will allow for longer green lights when needed to keep Pulse buses on schedule. The purple Pulse buses also will include WiFi and USB charging ports.

“Pulse represents the next generation of Pace service,” Pace chairman Richard Kwasneski said. “The frequency and affordability of this service will improve access to jobs, education, medical care, shopping and entertainment.” Another Pulse route is being planned for Dempster Street.

In addition to Golf Mill and Jefferson Park, the Milwaukee Pulse route will have stops at Dempster, Main Street, Oakton Street, Harlem Avenue, Touhy Avenue, Devon Avenue, Austin Avenue and Central Avenue. These boarding stations will include raised platforms, snow-melt pavement, heated shelters with seats, real-time bus arrival information, bike racks and a vertical marker designating the station as a Pulse stop.

The boarding stations in Niles are expected to be finished or near completion when the service starts in August, with work on the Chicago stations continuing through the fall, said Pace spokeswoman Maggie Daly Skogsbakken. “It’s ongoing,” she said of the construction. “We just want the service going, especially before school.”

The Pulse service will operate on weekdays between 5 a.m. and midnight with 10-minute frequency during rush hours, 15-minute frequency during non-peak hours until 10 p.m. and every 20 minutes from 10 p.m. to midnight.

On Saturdays, Pulse service will start at 5:30 a.m. and on Sundays at 6 a.m., with service every 15 minutes until 10 p.m., when it will transition to every 20 minutes.