COEUR d'ALENE - After a public hearing last Tuesday evening to collect more input and suggestions, the Kootenai County commissioners will likely make a final decision on reductions to Citylink services at their business meeting on Tuesday, said Christine Fueston, county Federal Transit Administration grant administrator.

Citizens' suggestions on Tuesday evening to ask the private sector to make up for reduced funding for the public transit service are not too viable, Fueston said on Wednesday.

"The likelihood of one business coming up with a substantial contribution would be really tough," Fueston said, though she added: "But we would love to have people step up and help."

Money that was previously relied on for the free bus service "(is) no longer available," she said, which has had the several agencies that partner on the service considering major changes.

There is now just under $1 million in federal and match funds each year to keep the service running, she said. The funds must cover maintenance of vehicles, paratransit service and facility costs.

To continue the service at its current level, Fueston said, would require raising "in the neighborhood of $400,000 to $500,000."

She pointed out that transit service is provided 365 days a year, and that vehicles are currently running all but four hours a day.

"You've got to stretch that dollar as far as it will go, with gas prices going up," she said. "You know how much it is to fill up your car. Imagine filling up a diesel vehicle that runs from 5:40 a.m. to 1:40 a.m."

The proposed service changes so far have been chosen based on ridership numbers, and with the goal of maintaining maximum service in high population centers.

The changes include ending bus service at 10 p.m. every day, and providing a two-way service between Post Falls, Coeur d'Alene and Hayden to eliminate current loop rooting. The "A" route that runs out to Stateline will be eliminated, and the "B" route reconfigured to pick up most riders from the former route.

Buses will no longer go directly into the NIC campus. More bus stops will be added to increase transit access, and stops will be made every hour, instead of every 85 minutes.

All proposed changes can be viewed at the county information desk in the administration building at 451 Government Way. Electronic versions are available on websites for: the Kootenai Metropolitan Planning Organization (www.kmpo.net); Kootenai County (www.kcgov.us); Citylink (idahocitylink.com); and the cities of Post Falls (postfallsidaho.org), Coeur d'Alene (cdaid.org) and Hayden (www.hayden.govoffice.com).

County Commissioner Dan Green said the reductions have been a difficult challenge.

"We have reduced funding, and are trying to accommodate everybody who has been accommodated," Green said.

He noted that no one at Tuesday night's hearing was really in favor of the changes, but he lauded that some routes will have less waiting time between stops as a result.

"I personally never like to reduce services for people who need help," Green said. "But we all have limits. The government has to operate within certain limits."

The reductions are expected to be implemented in mid May.

The Coeur d'Alene Tribe has been "overly generous" in providing most of the funding for Citylink since it started in 2006, Fueston said.

The agency has stated that the funding model is no longer sustainable without more contributions from areas served.

"You're asking the private sector to donate, unless the cities come up with more money," Fueston said. "In these economic times, everybody is saying, 'We can't.'"