The board of the Pace suburban bus agency Wednesday night approved a summer special for students: a reduced-fare monthly bus pass for $22.
A ridership boost of between 128,000 and more than 300,000 is expected from the discount, which will cost Pace up to $54,000 in the short term, transit officials said.
Earlier Wednesday, Pace announced it and the CTA had been awarded a $3 million federal grant to provide van service to transport former welfare recipients to jobs at suburban workplaces not served by public transportation.
In other business, the board named Dominick Cuomo, its chief internal auditor, to continue as interim director until a permanent executive director is selected.
Cuomo has been in the interim post since retiring Executive Director Joseph DiJohn’s last full workday, Friday. DiJohn, Pace’s only executive director since the agency’s founding 14 years ago, attended Wednesday’s meeting.
DiJohn, 55, will pursue a teaching career at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He also will be an outside adviser to Pace for a year at full salary. Board Chairman Florence Boone praised DiJohn for “his wisdom, perseverance, adaptability, and sense of humor.”
Under consideration to succeed DiJohn are: Ellen Levine, 52, who runs transit operations for the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit Authority; T.J. Ross, 48, general manager of the transit system in Phoenix; and Terry Brannon, 43, Pace’s executive director for planning and administration since 1992.
Board members interviewed the three candidates Wednesday night before adjourning shortly after 9 p.m. without taking action.