A year after it began work on a sweeping overhaul of bus service, the Port Authority is scheduling open houses to gather public input.

"Tell us where to go!" is the theme of six regional meetings to be held next month as part of an initiative named "Connect '09" that will affect the majority of 230,000 transit rides taken on the average weekday, starting next year.

In part, the program aims to adjust future service to ridership that has changed over time for reasons like population decline in areas including Pittsburgh and McKeesport, and business and residential growth in suburbs like Robinson, Cranberry and Monroeville.

Other objectives include increasing worker productivity, containing costs and incorporating regional bus systems into an overall people-moving strategy.

Open house attendees will visit "stations" to learn how planners have analyzed 187 bus routes and get an idea about how their particular service may be different when the program is implemented.

Authority officials encouraged riders to participate and have a say before it's too late to change plans.

For example, some bus routes will no longer extend to Downtown, requiring riders to transfer to light-rail lines or buses traveling the authority's three busways and Interstate 279 high occupancy vehicle lanes, which provide exclusive rights of way.

New routes may circle parts of the city to connect neighborhoods, a deviation from the hub-and-spoke system in place since the authority's origin almost 50 years ago.

Light-rail schedules will be only minimally affected because it's a "fixed" system -- the tracks and stations are permanent facilities. The only changes may be frequency of trips and more use of two-car trains.

The authority has been working mostly in the background thus far, discussing plans and seeking feedback through a series of 29 meetings with social service agencies, transportation providers, major employers and other interested parties.

In addition, officials and a special planning consultant have met with an advisory committee and an internal technical committee consisting of key staff personnel. They have sent speakers to explain Connect '09 to a number of community groups and service organizations.

"We're about one-third of the way through the transit development plan," said Peter Behrman, the authority's assistant general manager overseeing the project. "Public participation has been an important part of it."

The program involves most other public transit agencies in southwestern Pennsylvania to varying degrees by including them in a new "smart card" system of fare collection that will employ electronic and computer technologies that also measure ridership and generate data used in service planning.

Port Authority Chief Executive Officer Steve Bland said he expects Connect '09 to result in "significant changes to our business model that will ensure the most efficient operations possible with available funding in the future."

He said the number of buses that operate Downtown is a "core issue" of planning. The number may not only be reduced, but more routes are likely to originate and end on the fringes of the Golden Triangle rather than cutting through the middle of it.

Gov. Ed Rendell's special Pennsylvania Transportation Funding and Reform Commission recommended in 2006 that the authority take measures to become more cost-efficient, including improved coordination with 10 other public transit systems outside Allegheny County.

Following is the schedule of regional open houses:

Western communities -- June 17, 6 to 8 p.m. at the Carnegie Borough Building, 1 Veterans Way.

Allegheny Valley and eastern suburbs -- June 23, 6 to 8 p.m. in the gymnasium at Community College of Allegheny County's Boyce campus, Monroeville.

Downtown and city -- June 24, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Downtown YWCA, 305 Wood St.

North Hills -- June 24, 6 to 8 p.m. at the West View Fire Department banquet hall, 398 Perry Highway.

South Hills -- June 25, 6 to 8 p.m. at the Bethel Park Fire Hall, 5213 Brightwood Road.

Mon Valley -- June 26, 6 to 8 p.m. in the gymnasium at Community College of Allegheny County's South campus, West Mifflin.

Riders can learn more by visiting tdp.portauthority.org. For those without computer access, the Port Authority has established a telephone hot line, 866-583-0837.