Pierce Transit officials are mulling bus service cuts even as the economy is driving more people to use public transportation.

The agency is trimming its budget and targeting low-use bus routes in an effort to plug a budget hole caused by lagging sales tax revenue. Its board of commissioners will meet Monday to hear details of three options for service cuts that could be imposed this summer.

Pierce Transit chief executive Lynne Griffith said the agency is trying to cut costs in ways that have minimum impact on passengers and employees. But she noted transit systems across the country are resorting to service cuts and layoffs. And she said Pierce Transit’s financial problems might get worse before they get better.

“We’ve never experienced this kind of (revenue) decline in the history of Pierce Transit,” Griffith said.

It’s been a roller coaster year for Pierce Transit, which provides bus, shuttle and other transportation services across Pierce County. Last year high gas prices led many commuters to abandon their cars in favor of buses. The agency’s total passenger boardings rose 11 percent to 16.1 million in 2008.

But as the economy soured later in the year, Pierce Transit’s biggest source of revenue – sales tax – began to lag. Though the agency has not finalized its 2008 finances, spokesman Lars Erickson said it appears sales tax revenue will be $10 million less than expected for the year.

The agency cut $5.7 million from its 2008 budget. It made more cuts in the 2009 budget and raised adult fares by 25 cents. But it’s still facing a $5 million budget shortfall, thanks to the lagging sales tax.

In response, the Pierce Transit board last month asked the staff to study the effect of eliminating low-use routes. On Monday the staff will present three options:

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• Eliminate at least three routes and reduce service on up to seven others throughout the county. This would cut 33,000 service hours – about 5 percent of total fixed-route bus service hours – and affect more than 300,000 passenger boardings a year.

• Eliminate service on six routes and modify two other routes. This would cut 32,000 service hours and affect 200,000 passenger boardings a year.

• Cut the first and last trip on all routes at the beginning and end of the day. This would cut 60,000 service hours – 9 percent of total hours – and affect 910,000 passenger boardings a year.

Erickson called the third option the “least likely” because it doesn’t address the board’s desire to eliminate lower-use routes.

Griffith said Pierce Transit can’t count on additional operating money from the state or federal government. So it’s looking at a variety of ways to cut costs.

She said the agency wants to avoid cutting services at a time when more people need public transportation. But unless things improve that may not be possible.

“We are doing everything we can to find ways to cut costs without impacting the public,” she said.

Any service cuts would be subject to public hearings before final action. If cuts occur, Griffith said they would probably come this summer.