Loss of the 11C bus route will mean longer commutes, more crowded buses and missed medical appointments, people in the North Hills told members of the Port Authority board.

"I don't know how people will get to [UPMC] Passavant Hospital," said Judith Davin, of West View.

"I am legally blind ... and good bus service was why I moved to West View." Robert Lacher said.

The 11C connects West View and Ross with Downtown Pittsburgh and several places to the north, including UPMC Passavant, La Roche College, Northland Public Library and Duncan Manor Shopping Center.

The 11C is one of 124 weekday routes slated for elimination as part of the Port Authority's effort to head off an $80 million operating deficit next year. The public transit agency also is contemplating two options for fare increases: a $2 flat fee for all zones or a $2.50 base fare that maintains free service within part of Downtown Pittsburgh.

More than three dozen people commented on proposed service cuts and fare increases at a four-hour public hearing last Thursday in the West View fire hall. Guy Mattola, vice chairman of the Port Authority board, promised speakers that their comments would be considered before the nine-member board makes its decisions.

Port Authority staff recommendations are to be made in March, with any route changes taking effect in June. Fare changes would take effect Jan. 1.

The proposed service cuts would hit older, ill and handicapped people and the working poor the hardest, several people said.

A representative of Allegheny East Mental Health-Mental Retardation Center said that about 1,000 of its clients who rely on public transportation could lose access to mental health services if the Port Authority carries out all of its proposed cuts.

Many agency employees also would face commuting problems if bus routes were slashed, Allegheny East Unit Director Victoria Livingstone said.

Other speakers pointed to environmental and social costs that would result from fewer bus routes. If more people have to drive to work, already crowded roads would become more clogged and air pollution would worsen.

While about half of Downtown workers take public transportation, most garages are at 95 percent capacity, Pittsburgh Planning Director Patrick Ford said. He estimated that about $200 million in new parking facilities would be needed to meet increased demand if a substantial number of bus and rail routes were eliminated.

Dan Booker, representing the Allegheny Conference on Community Development, was a lone voice in saying that service cuts were painful but necessary. The Port Authority faces rising operating deficits and little chance of a substantial increase in state aid. As it currently operates, the transit agency is not a sustainable business model, Mr. Booker said.

Many of the speakers said they recognized the need for a combination of route cutbacks and a fare increase, but most urged trimming frequency of service rather than eliminating entire routes.

Others, including West View Mayor J.R. Henry, urged the authority to trim operating costs by bringing retired employees back to work, offering them improved pensions as an incentive, and by using smaller vehicles on less busy routes.

Pat Williams lives near the Avalon loop, the end of the line for many buses coming from Downtown. "We don't need service every half hour," she said. She told the board she would be willing to have fewer buses serve her neighborhood if they could be shifted to maintain service in other areas of the county.

The session in West View was the eighth in a series of nine public hearings set up by the Port Authority. More than 600 people have spoken and another 4,000 have made written or phoned-in comments, according to Chief Executive Officer Stephen Bland.

County Councilman John DeFazio said County Council would hold the first in a series of its own hearings on the subject at 5 p.m. Tuesday in the Gold Room of the Allegheny County Courthouse. Mr. DeFazio said he had invited Mr. Bland and Patrick McMahon, president of Local 85 of the Amalgamated Transit Union, to the session. Local 85 represents 2,600 authority workers.

Good public transit is critical to the quality of life in Allegheny County, state Rep. Don Walko said. The North Side Democrat said he had backed proposals to raise the state fee for tire recycling and the realty transfer tax to help fund public transportation. In addition, he said, he favored allocating a portion of the state sales tax for public transportation.

He suggested taking a portion of Allegheny County's 1 percent Regional Asset District tax to subsidize bus and light-rail service.

That proposal was seconded by Port Authority rider James Mushinsky. "Take some of that RAD money back from the Pirates and the Penguins," he urged.

RAD dollars are used to help maintain Mellon Arena, where the Penguins play hockey, and to help finance both PNC Park, home of the Pirates, and Heinz Field, home of the Steelers.

Joseph Bartlett, of Ross, a retired Port Authority employee, suggested another funding source. Riders and local officials should lobby state legislators to reallocate lottery funds for public transit, he said.

Lottery funds already help support bus service, paying $1.75, the zone-one base fare, for every senior citizen during nonpeak hours.