COAST CITIES — With the paint barely dry on the Sprinter light rail line, North County Transit District announced April 24 that it would likely be raising fees and cutting unprofitable routes to balance its budget by June.

The squeeze is coming from two fronts. On one side, spiking fuel prices have hit the transit system’s bottom line. Every 10-cent increase in gas prices costs NCTD $280,000 a year.

On the other side, poor revenues at the state level make the transportation budget a tempting source of funding for other programs. In the last five years, Sacramento has used $3 billion from transportation’s coffers, cutting millions of dollars in funding to NCTD.

“It would take an infusion of funding from the state and a commitment on the part of the state not to raid transport funding for the next five years (to maintain our current programs),” said Tom Kellehar, NCTD’s communications director.

“(However,) there is established funding, and if that funding remains in place, we will not have troubles with our budget,” Kellehar said.

Bus routes that have fewer than 20 riders per hour may be cut or reduced to hourly rather than half-hourly frequencies. Endangered San Marcos routes include 341/442 and 347/447; Vista routes include 321, 334/335 and 338/339.

The FAST reservation-based minibus system is also on the cutting block. The system costs $1.2 million a year but brings in only $78,000.

“It doesn’t seem to be good use of public funds to provide door-to-door service to a limited public and have everybody else paying for it,” Vista Councilman Robert Campbell said.

The service adjustments are sure to affect ridership, but with gas prices skyrocketing simultaneously, it is anyone’s guess exactly how.

Campbell has received a number of letters from residents who have no alternative to the buses and will be unable to commute to their job if the cuts proceed as planned. Cancellation of the FAST buses may isolate residents in rural areas who cannot afford taxis or who do not own a vehicle.

Students, big users of the area’s public transit system, have started to protest. Palomar College’s Associated Student Government hosted a signature drive May 5 for a petition against the proposed service cuts.

Ken Dubs, president of Economic Development Corporation, is concerned that NCTD’s moves may deal serious setbacks to North County’s far-flung network.

“I think it’s great that Sprinter is in place, but there’s a lot more work to be done for it to be effective,” Dubs said. “It will become more and more important as time goes on, but I don’t believe at this time that the Sprinter is a pivotal piece to the economic vibrance of the city of San Marcos.”

“Public transit along the rail line requires ease of transportation. ... It’s dependent on bus lines, parking, on how convenient (and cost effective) it is to the ridership. Fee hikes and services cuts mean we’re going in the wrong direction,” Dubs said.

Before NCTD makes any final decisions, it will hold a series of public hearings to determine the best course of action. San Marcos City Councilman Chris Orlando describes this round of talks as the “first inning” in a complete re-evaluation for the ailing transit district.

Orlando said he advocates looking at NCTD as a whole, and not just simply raising fees and changing routes. “It is a structural problem. It’s not a one-year shortfall,” Orlando said.

The first of the NCTD public hearings will be held at 2 p.m. May 15 at the San Marcos Civic Center. More information can be found at www.gontcd.com.