Downtown hotel guests eager to gamble at the Rivers Casino might soon be able to enjoy door-to-door service.

The Port Authority of Allegheny County board is scheduled to vote tomorrow on granting a permit to Lenzner Coach Lines to operate a shuttle that would ferry hotel guests and other patrons from seven hotels Downtown and at Station Square to the casino on the North Shore.

If the vote is favorable, shuttle service could begin Sept. 28 after the G-20 economic summit is over, Lenzner President Charlie Lenzner said yesterday.

The service would not be without controversy. The Amalgamated Transit Union Local 85, which represents Port Authority workers, took the matter to court last year to block Lenzner and continues to oppose it.

Patrick McMahon, the local's president and business agent, questioned why the Port Authority could not create such a route for itself. Mr. McMahon argued that a Lenzner shuttle would take jobs away from his union brethren and leave riders paying more than they would on a Port Authority bus. The Lenzner service would cost $10 roundtrip. It is expected to operate with five vehicles, seven days a week, including holidays, from 11 a.m. to 2:15 a.m.

Pickups would be at the Hilton Pittsburgh, the Renaissance Hotel, the Omni William Penn, the Doubletree, the Marriott City Center, the Westin Convention Center hotel, and the Sheraton Station Square. Riders would receive a complimentary $10 voucher for a players card at the casino.

The court remanded back to Port Authority, which held a hearing earlier this month. The union did not attend, and Mr. McMahon claimed he was not aware of the hearing until after it was over.

Port Authority currently runs the 16A Ohio River Boulevard route, which services Downtown and stops near the casino on its outbound trip and at the casino on its inbound leg.

Port Authority spokesman Jim Ritchie said the agency is not interested in providing door-to-door service between hotels and the casino.

"Our routes are intended to serve communities and job centers and not private businesses," Mr. Ritchie said.

The permit proposal was reviewed yesterday by a Port Authority board committee, but was not recommended because there was no quorum.

Similarly, the committee reviewed another proposal to be taken up by the board tomorrow for a vote to restore an agreement with Chatham University.

Under terms of the agreement, the school would pay Port Authority $140,000 for the first year of a three-year deal to allow students, faculty and staff to ride for free.

The deal would start Oct. 1. The cost would go up 15 percent in the second and third years, Mr. Ritchie said. Chatham had a deal with the transit agency for service from Oct. 2006 to Aug. 2007. Although the deal lapsed, Port Authority still recognized Chatham identification.

The school agreed to pay the agency $200,000 to cover the period since Aug. 2007, Mr. Ritchie said.