Riders will learn tomorrow how they could be affected by an unprecedented level of service cuts and other changes at the Port Authority.

Restructuring of the bus-trolley system to bring expenses in line with revenues and address a projected $80 million budget deficit in the 2007-08 fiscal year will be disclosed at board committee meetings.

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Numerous sources have said they don't expect management to recommend cutting as much as 25 percent of service hours as first proposed, which would have eliminated 124 of 213 bus routes. Nonetheless, they expect the cuts to be the biggest in the agency's 43-year history and to have a far-reaching impact on riders.

And as of yesterday, no decision had been reached about whether to propose a new $2 flat fare or retain the existing "zone" system and raise the base fare by 75 cents, to $2.50, with proportional hikes in weekly, monthly and annual passes.

It will be up to the full nine-member, county-appointed board to ratify or modify the staff's recommendations at the March 30 regular meeting.

"The [financial] problem is very real," authority Chief Executive Officer Steve Bland said. "As distasteful as reducing service is, it is less distasteful than going nine or 10 months and being forced to shut down the system altogether."

Service planners have been working virtually "around the clock to wrap up in time for Friday's meeting," he said, indicating recommendations will be tweaked and numbers will be crunched through late today.

"We've spent an incredible amount of time trying to do this in the best possible way," Mr. Bland said. "Unfortunately, people will be negatively affected, whether they are workers, students, businesses, what have you. But we have to take what we have and build for the future in a way that can be sustained."

He has the support of Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato, who has said the county can no longer afford paying $25 million -- with prospects for more money -- to match state subsidies.

Mr. Onorato spent the past two days in Harrisburg, lobbying for long-sought dedicated funding for public transit. However, state officials have already warned that, even if approved this summer, money will not come in time to delay service cuts, will not be enough to fill the authority's $80 million budget gap and will not be forthcoming without significant corporate reform.

Also tomorrow, board committees are to endorse reforms recommended by Mr. Bland two weeks ago. They include consolidating departments, ending generous pension and health care benefits for nonunion and management personnel, freezing salaries, eliminating 56 office positions and possibly moving the headquarters back to Manchester.

Mr. Bland is leading by example, having given up his authority-owned car and a deferred compensation package and sacrificing the same early retirement and health care benefits and salary increases as other management employees.

"At the end of the day, we all have to deal with reality," he said.

Bus-trolley cuts and changes will go into effect June 17, rather than June 24 as announced earlier. Whatever fare increases are ultimately approved will not go into effect until Jan. 1.

The service cuts and other changes that Mr. Bland will recommend to board members tomorrow morning will be explained to elected state, county and city officials at a private meeting later in the day.

He said the authority will retain the highest level of service possible given the financial situation. He said planners also have taken into account the testimony and suggestions of thousands of people who weighed in through nine public meetings, calls, letters, e-mails and petitions.

The Port Authority is currently ranked as the nation's 15th-largest transit system, and carries about 240,000 people on an average weekday on buses, trolleys, the Mon Incline and ACCESS.