Major service cuts to the T, the city’s public transportation system, once again are building steam.

City staff members are conceding that service cuts of 30 percent to 50 percent may be needed in 2009 and beyond to keep the T financially viable during tight budget times.

“This could be very, very painful,” Cliff Galante, the city’s public transit administrator, said of possible reductions in routes or service hours.

No decision on whether to cut service to the T has been made and likely won’t until sometime in mid-2008. But commissioners at their meeting tonight are expected to open the door for the largest cutbacks the 6-year-old system has experienced.

Commissioners are scheduled to give staff members approval to start the process to find a contractor to run the T beginning in 2009. The city is issuing the request for proposals with Kansas University in an effort to find one contractor that can run both the city and KU bus systems. But as part of that request for proposals, the city is requiring bidders to provide three separate price proposals: one to keep the system operating at its current level of service; another to cut service hours by 30 percent; and another that would cut service by 50 percent.

Some city commissioners said such large cuts, or perhaps eliminating the service, will have to be considered in the face of tight budget times at City Hall.

“The first thing we have to decide is whether we can afford the service at all,” City Commissioner Mike Amyx said.

Any cuts to the service will be met with opposition. City Commissioner Boog Highberger said he would fight to keep current service levels, even if it required additional city spending.

“As a community, we need to be willing to pay for public transit,” Highberger said. “As we look at a future where fuel is going to be more expensive, I think public transit is going to become even more important.”

Galante said it was nearly certain that the city’s cost to run the T would increase significantly unless service cuts are made. Some city leaders have held out hope that combining forces with KU would result in cost savings. Galante thinks that is highly unlikely in the short term.

That’s in part because the city’s current public transit contract is a bit of a sweetheart deal. The city’s diesel costs are capped at $1.62 per gallon, even though diesel fuel now is nearly twice that amount. Galante said any future contract wouldn’t shield the city from fuel increases. The transit system uses about 170,000 gallons of fuel each year.

Another factor is the city’s current bus maintenance facility likely will need to be expanded or relocated to serve both KU and city buses for the long term.

Galante said it wasn’t yet known what changes would have to be made to the T system if the city opted for either the 30 percent or 50 percent reduction in services. He said the cuts could involve a reduction in service hours and the elimination of some routes.

“What I could guarantee you is there would be a lot fewer buses running on the street,” Galante said.

To put the potential cuts in perspective, city commissioners last summer contemplated cutting service by about 15 percent in an effort to shore up a sagging budget. Those cuts, which ultimately were rejected after members of the public objected, would have closed the T at 6 p.m. instead of 8 p.m.

City Commissioner Mike Dever cast one of the key votes to increase the city’s property tax rate in order to avoid cuts to the T last summer. He said he wasn’t sure he was willing to do that again.

“My commitment was to maintain the level of service until we can determine what we can afford as a community,” Dever said.

Commissioners meet at 6:35 p.m. tonight at City Hall, Sixth and Massachusetts streets.