Linda Barkhurst fears that as many as three-fourths of her 30 janitorial employees at Federal Building Services in Robinson will be forced to quit if the Port Authority eliminates 13 bus routes in the West suburbs.

The West routes are part of a proposal by the budget-strapped Port Authority to eliminate about one-third of its 210 weekday bus routes, eliminate weekend and holiday service and stop weekday service at 9 o'clock.

And, the base fare on the remaining routes would increase from $1.75 to $2.50 on or about Feb. 1. Remaining zone fares and the cost for passes also would increase.

Barkhurst said the cuts would mean devastation for her business, which cleans and maintains Robinson buildings on three shifts 24 hours a day.

"Our employees ride the bus from Downtown, Carnegie and other parts of town because they don't have cars," she said. "And, our people are really worried if this happens before the holidays. Many of them are mothers with children."

Barkhurst said raising fares would hurt her workers, too.

"Most are paid $7.25 per hour," she said. "They can't afford to pay more for bus fare."

The cutbacks -- the most severe in the authority's 40-year history -- are necessary, according to the authority, because of a $30-million subsidy shortfall. A public hearing will be conducted in three sessions today from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., 2 to 6 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. in the Sheraton Station Square Hotel.

These are the West routes that would be discontinued:

21B Kenmawr; 25A Robinson-Moon-Coraopolis; 25D Robinson-Carnegie; 26E Robinson-Imperial; 28F Forest Grove Express; 28G Oakdale Express, 31A Crafton-Carnegie; 31E Bridgeville-Main Street; 33E Bridgeville-Main Street Express; 36B Virginia Manor; 36C Greentree-West End; 100 West Busway All Stops, CO Coraopolis Flyer.

Lynn Manion, executive director of the Airport Corridor Transportation Association, which is based in Robinson, said the cutbacks would destroy the concept of express bus service from Pittsburgh [Route 28X Airport flyer] connecting with community bus service, which is provided on Routes 25A and 25D.

"Without the connecting buses, workers arriving at Robinson Town Centre won't be able to transfer to a community route in order to get to their jobs," Manion said.

In addition to employees at the mall, Manion said many shoppers rely on public transportation for access to the shops at The Mall at Robinson. She said sales of bus passes and tickets has been brisk in the ACTA office.

"We have people who work and shop in the retail area purchasing about $2,000 worth of passes a month," Manion said. "It's apparent that more people are using the bus."

She said there also is a shuttle that meets the 26E bus on Campbell's Run Road and takes commuters to a call center at Penn Center West.

"But if the 26E is eliminated, those people won't have any transportation to work," Manion said.

ACTA has collected more than 100 signatures on cards from bus riders waiting at shelters in Robinson and at park-n-ride lots, asking state senators and legislators to support legislation to establish a stable funding source for public transportation.

"While we would encourage people to testify at the public hearings, the most important thing is to contact their state senators and representatives about supporting a reliable source of funding for transit."

Individuals interested in joining the effort can sign a card in the ACTA offices in Robinson Town Centre.

The mailings to local senate and house members are accompanied by photos of the signers, which Manion said was done "to put a human face on our appeal. These people want to tell their story. We hope this attracts legislators' attention."