The free bus service that Niles put the brakes on in September continues to be halted, though village leaders hope to have it running again soon.

The village of Niles suspended its free in-town Pace bus service about four months ago, blaming a dispute with the suburban commuter bus company over paying insurance — though Pace officials said at that time that it offered to temporarily cover that cost.

Local commuters will have to wait a bit longer for the service to restart, as negotiations continue between the village and the transit provider.

According to Pace spokeswoman Maggie Daly Skogsbakken, Pace made a policy change in 2002 to no longer provide insurance for fixed route buses when the suburban commuter bus company does not directly manage the service or employ the personnel. She said this policy approach allows Pace to “better manage risk, ensure fairness across communities, and focus resources on providing reliable transit service.”

As a result, towns such as Niles, which has helped to subsidize the cost of the free bus service, have been negotiating new contracts with Pace. In Niles, the affected routes include 410, 411 and 412.

The three lines of free bus service run through the east, west and north sides of town, and help give riders access to major shopping strips and centers, area high schools, the library, apartment complexes and more. Buses had operated seven days a week, from morning to late-afternoon.

It has been anticipated that the interruption of service likely disproportionately affects seniors and people with limited mobility.

“Since August 2025, Pace and Niles have been actively discussing a new agreement pertaining to Niles’ service,” Skogsbakken previously wrote in a statement to Pioneer Press. “When Niles communicated to Pace on Sept. 14, 2025, that it would be suspending its service that day because of having no insurance, Pace offered to insure Niles’ service until Nov. 5, 2025, to allow time to finalize the new agreement while avoiding a service interruption.”

She stated at that time that Niles hadn’t accepted the offer.

However, Skogsbakken told Pioneer Press she believes recent negotiations have gone well, but declined to share details on what exactly is being negotiated.

“Service has not been restored due to ongoing negotiations,” she said. “I will not know the funding sources until negotiations are complete, but the goal is to restore service as soon as possible.”

Niles village spokesman Mitch Johnson echoed Skogsbakken about the continued talks.

“The village is in ongoing negotiations with Pace and until an agreement is reached, the bus routes remain out of service,” Johnson said. “The village is working with Pace to restore service. Until an agreement can be reached, we do not have details to share.”

But in his 2026 outlook for the village, mayor George Alpogianis expressed his hope that service would restart in late February. He is anticipating a cost to the village of about $600,000, with Pace paying $1 million toward the transit service, he said.

In the meanwhile, though, the mayor is considering an advisory referendum to determine if the ridership for this free bus service is still there and if the routes need to be changed to better serve the community.

“I really want our citizens to have a good, solid understanding of where they’re money is going,” Alpogianis said. “I want to be transparent.”

Elizabeth Owens-Schiele is a freelancer. 

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/12/niles-pace-working-to-restore-free-bus-service/