A $50 million budget shortfall has forced Pace Suburban Bus System to make large-scale service reductions and implement fare increases.

The cuts, which Pace and CTA officials have called “the most devastating cutbacks to transit service the region has ever seen,” will reportedly affect more than 10 million Pace customers each year.

Several routes in the Tri-Cities area will be affected by the cuts. Saturday service for Route 801, which runs from Elgin to Geneva, will be eliminated Nov. 4. Until Jan. 6, weekday service will continue. Saturday service and service after 7 p.m. for Route 802, which runs from Aurora to St. Charles, will also be cut Jan. 6.

Metra Feeder route fares will increase from $1.25 to $1.50 Nov. 4, and all fixed route fares will go up to $2.00 in January. Local Dial-A-Ride fares will increase to $2 in January and suburban ADA Paratransit fares will go up to $4.

A bill that aimed to help solve the funding problem by raising the sales tax by a quarter-percentage point failed earlier this year in Springfield, but House Speaker Michael J. Madigan will ask House members to approve it again Friday.