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Don't get too used to those new bus routes that began debuting in April.

Unless some miracle closes a $47.1 million hole in Port Authority's budget, most Mon-Yough local bus service --- including all of the newly created lines serving McKeesport's suburbs --- is likely to be eliminated in January.

Port Authority will begin accepting public comments on the proposed cuts tomorrow. A hearing is set for 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Aug. 19 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh.

Under the proposal approved last week by Port Authority's board of directors, Clairton, Glassport, White Oak and several other communities would lose all bus service, and even popular commuter routes that connect McKeesport with downtown Pittsburgh and Oakland would see buses less frequently.

All told, more than 40 routes across Allegheny County would be eliminated. Two of the transit agency's bus garages also would be closed and more than 500 employees would be laid off.

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Other transit agencies across Pennsylvania are facing similar cuts. Gov. Ed Rendell is proposing a series of fee and tax hikes to fund both mass transit and improvements to state-owned bridges and roads.

But political pundits say state legislators have little interest in enacting tax hikes before November's election --- and probably not after it, either.

If the changes go into effect on Jan. 9 as proposed, the transit agency would axe all service to Clairton and Glassport (Route 55), Christy Park and Versailles (Route 60), White Oak (Route 61), and Port Vue and Liberty boroughs (Route 62).

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Bus service would be trimmed weekdays on the new 59 Mon Valley route. The line connects Century III Mall and the Wal-Mart in North Versailles, providing local stops in West Mifflin, Dravosburg, Duquesne and the Steel Valley and Woodland Hills areas.

Routes that connect the city with Pittsburgh also would see reduced service. All Sunday service would be eliminated on Route 56, which runs via Lincoln Place and Second Avenue.

Buses would be less frequent on the P7 McKeesport Flyer --- a new express service to downtown Pittsburgh which uses the Martin Luther King Jr. East Busway --- and the 61C, a popular choice for students who attend college in Oakland.

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Under a plan proposed by Rendell and approved in 2007 by the General Assembly, the state would have turned Interstate 80 into a toll road and used the money to fund the Port Authority and other transit agencies.

I-80 is already a toll road in Illinois, Indiana and Ohio. Pennsylvania officials estimated that tolling I-80 in the Commonwealth would have generated $946 million annually. About $472 million of that money would have been devoted to public transportation and highway and bridge repairs.

But federal officials have repeatedly rejected the state's request to turn Interstate 80 into a toll road, saying that all revenues generated by tolling an existing interstate must be used for maintenance on that highway, not for other purposes.

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The plan also was criticized by Republican members of Pennsylvania's congressional delegation --- mainly from those representing rural northern counties served by I-80, but with little or no public transportation.

Critics of Port Authority --- including the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy, which has close ties to the Daily News and other newspapers that are part of the Tribune-Review chain --- say Port Authority created its own funding problems.

They say the agency spends too much money on salaries, pensions and benefits --- particularly for unionized employees --- and on wasteful projects such as the little-used Wabash Tunnel connector and the North Shore subway line, now under construction.

Others, including state Auditor General Jack Wagner, have said that the Port Authority has "poorly planned or implemented" its capital improvement programs. In audits released by his office in 2007, Wagner said the agency had "wasted millions of dollars" by paying what he called "lavish" pensions to former executives.

But the Port Authority claims it has acted to correct many of the problems identified by Wagner and others. The agency says that since Wagner released his audit findings in 2007, it has trimmed $52 million from its annual budget by cutting jobs, freezing executive salaries, trimming benefits and requiring increased health insurance and pension contributions from unionized workers.

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With the plan to toll Interstate 80 off the table, Rendell has asked the General Assembly to increase the state's gasoline tax by three cents per gallon, along with raising the fees for renewing driver's licenses and vehicle registrations.

However, several newspapers, including the Philadelphia Inquirer, have reported that state legislators are unlikely to consider any tax or fee increases until after November's election --- and may wait until a new governor is sworn into office in January before taking any action.

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In addition to the service cuts --- which would affect every section of Allegheny County, not just the Mon Valley --- Port Authority has also proposed increasing most fares by 25 cents. The cost of a ride on so-called "premium" routes, including the P7 McKeesport Flyer, would jump from $2.75 to $4.00.

Besides the Aug. 9 public hearing, the transit agency is accepting public comments on the cuts beginning Wednesday and continuing through Aug. 31. Comments should be made via Port Authority's website or by writing to Port Authority Fare & Service Proposals, Heinz 57 Center, 345 Sixth Avenue, Floor 3, Pittsburgh PA 15222-2527.

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