DeKalb public transit system to see route changes

DeKALB – The city of DeKalb is looking to implement some changes to its public transit system in time for the start of the fall semester at Northern Illinois University.

Upgrades are expected to go into effect beginning Aug. 28 with an accompanying increase in transit service hours, officials said.

City Manager Bill Nicklas briefed the council at a recent meeting on why changes to the public transit system are needed.

The increased use of the city’s Route 12 line to Elburn amounting to 667, 577 and 441 total riders in May, June and July, respectively, compared with previous years indicates that interest is not limited to NIU students, data shows.

Mayor Cohen Barnes gave kudos to city staff for making the public transit system changes possible.

“I’m particularly excited about the routes out to south DeKalb,” Barnes said. “We’ve worked hard as a council to be able to provide more opportunities for our residents in the city of DeKalb, and that opportunity is manifesting itself or blowing up on the south side.

“There are so many wonderful good-paying jobs by world-renowned companies. I just think it’s awesome to know that we continue to bring those to our residents, and then those that don’t have the means to be able to get out there, that we continue to figure out different ways that we can give them access to those jobs.”

Transit Director Mike Neuenkirchen said the city’s Route 12 line to Elburn is on track to outpace last year’s ridership levels.

“Between Jan. 1 and July 31, 2023, Route 12 provided 4,398 passenger trips, with an average monthly ridership of 628,” Neuenkirchen said. “By comparison, we provided 2,148 passenger trips in the same seven-month time frame in 2022, for an increase of 105%.”

The council’s action allows for increased service runs to the Elburn Metra station from 10 trips on weekdays to 13. According to city documents, there will be additional evening services available to potential users as well.

The city, however, plans on removing the low-usage Route 12 stop in Cortland to streamline the service, officials said.

Nicklas said the changes may prove to be more effective, which is the city’s hope.

“We were doing a route that’s made regular stops in Cortland,” Nicklas said. “There were less than 30 riders in the past 12 months.”

Nicklas said the alternative the city has for Cortland residents is a dial-a-ride option.

“What we’ve set up and will be advertising so residents of Cortland know about it is, if they want to use a bus, and there’s a dial-a-ride,” Nicklas said. “You can call the day before. That would be better.”

I just think it’s awesome to know that we continue to bring those to our residents and then those that don’t have the means to be able to get out there that we continue to figure out different ways that we can give them access to those jobs.”

—  Mayor Cohen Barnes

City leaders have said they would use a push for increased public transit to help test the community’s interest in bringing a commuter rail service to DeKalb and DeKalb County.

A study commissioned by the city in 2019 aims to shed light on what city leaders said residents should expect if Metra commuter rail service were extended to DeKalb and DeKalb County. It indicated that in 2018, the Elburn Metra station saw 336 people boarding the train daily, data shows.

In 2021, there were 97 people boarding the commuter train daily from the Elburn Metra station, data shows. The study shows that in 2022, there were 184 people boarding the train daily from the Elburn Metra station.

Neuenkirchen said the city is expecting that ridership levels in 2023 will show that it has doubled for those looking to access the Elburn Metra station coming from DeKalb.

Elsewhere, the city intends to increase route times for Route 19 so it may operate 24/7 to better accommodate labor force demands on DeKalb’s south end.

Currently, the service runs only five days a week. But the city plans to eliminate two different variations of the route to help bring standardization to service times, and plans to drop service on Hillcrest Drive between Normal Road and North First Street because of low ridership and to bring consistency to service times, according to city documents.

Neuenkirchen said the Route 19 line saw 8,000 riders last year and is trending 20% ahead so far this year.

Nicklas urged the City Council to support changes to the public transit system.

The costs associated with upgrading the city’s public transit system are estimated at $380,000 annually, according to city documents. It will be funded using aid from the Federal Transit Authority and the state’s operating assistance grants.

The fares assessed to public transit riders will remain the same at 50 cents for a fixed route and $1 for paratransit and dial-a-ride users, officials said.

City leaders backed the series of upgrades at the city manager’s request.