Pace Vanpool: A Smarter Way to Get to Work

Take Control of Your Commute to and from Work

What is a Pace Vanpool?

Operating for over 30 years, Pace Vanpool Incentive Program (VIP) is a public transportation program designed to reduce the number of vehicles on the road. In a Pace van, a group of commuters can travel together to work, share resources, and save big money compared to driving alone or in a carpool. 

Pace helps with vanpool costs using grant funds and supplies a well-maintained vehicle that includes insurance, fuel and maintenance, roadside assistance, tolls, and more. Participants can reduce car ownership, wear and tear on their own vehicle and possibly lower costs on their personal auto insurance. Primary Vanpool drivers get personal use of the Pace van within mileage limits, and they do not make vanpool payments. 

Vanpool riders pay a low monthly fare to Pace based on distance, participant frequency and group size. Pace offers flexible vanpool fares for hybrid, reduced work weeks and regular work shifts. Riders can increase their savings by inviting more commuters to join, becoming backup drivers, or applying for a tax-free commuter benefit or employer subsidy. See how much you can save with our Rideshare Savings calculator. 

Pace Vanpool services make getting to work affordable for commuters in Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will counties. Start by forming your own group or looking for a vanpool near me.  After you have found an existing vanpool that matches your commute to work, then you can request 3 free test rides or join right away. Please coordinate with the Vanpool driver before submitting the test ride request form to the Pace Vanpool Department. 

How Does a Pace Vanpool Work?

WCIU's "You and Me This Morning" Covers the Pace Vanpool Incentive Program

Participants, who live and work near each other, can form a vanpool group and apply for a Pace van. Vanpoolers are required to live or work in Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry or Will Counties. Vanpool groups can travel from Illinois to work in Wisconsin or Indiana and vice versa. After completing an approval process and getting a Pace van, the primary driver will be ready to pick up vanpool riders at agreed-upon stops along the route to work. 

The overall vanpool design is customized by where and when the vanpool driver works then adjusted to accommodate the other participants’ commutes. Having backup drivers can enhance its flexibility. This means that the Pace van could potentially add more days or extend its routing with the backup driver handling the first/last mile to and from an additional employer location and/or origin stop.

Pace Vanpools are not the same as Uber or Lyft services because Pace helps with transportation by providing a van for the group to use. The participants in the group remain consistent the majority of the time, someone in the group agrees to drive (no hired drivers), and travel is recurring (any frequency from daily to once a week).  The primary vanpool drivers participate at no cost and save money on their regular commute to work. Riders do not have to schedule daily arrangements and pay affordable vanpool fares monthly. 

The primary driver sets up the vanpool to correspond with the group's commute to work and shift hours. Riders may need to be flexible by adjusting work hours or driving to a vanpool stop to join a vanpool group.  Pace staff works closely with the vanpool drivers to assist with set up and keeping things going. When a personal emergency happens, Pace offers a Guaranteed Ride Home so a participant can get back home by taxi, Uber, Lyft, bus, or train.

There are Two Types of Pace Vanpools: Traditional and Feeder

A Traditional Vanpool is a regular point-A to point-B commute traveling between home and work.
A Feeder Vanpool is a first or last-mile connection to and from bus, train, or park-n-ride locations.

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Questions?

Additional Vanpool Programs

Please see the links below to find options for employers, non-profits and other Vanpool resources.

Explore Carpooling 

Not ready to commit to a Pace vanpool? You and another person can informally start your own carpool. One of you provides the vehicle, and you make all the arrangements on how and when to travel, and how to split expenses. You can register and use Pace's carpool finder tool to help you find a carpool partner if you don’t already have one. Once you start experiencing the convenience and savings of carpooling, a Pace vanpool is the next logical step! For more information, call (847) 5-WE-POOL or email us.