The Denton County Transportation Authority is proposing changes to existing routes that may cut service for some riders while increasing service for many others.

Before the changes take place, DCTA will seek feedback from riders during four public meetings, and approval from the board of directors.

“We want to increase service where it is warranted,” said Dee Leggett, DCTA vice president of communications and planning. “In some areas of Denton, in the high-performing areas, we have anywhere from 12 to 25 passengers per hour. Those other lower-performing areas, we are looking at two to three.”

The first meeting in Denton will be at 7 p.m. June 23 at the Martin Luther King Jr. Recreation Center. Other meetings are planned for June 24 at Texas Woman’s University, June 30 at the Denton South Branch Library and July 7 at the Center for the Visual Arts.

“It’s our policy whenever we’re going to make significant changes, we go out in front of the public before changes are made,” Leggett said.

The last adjustment in routes was in August of 2007.

One change DCTA will make is increasing the frequency of service at the University of North Texas and TWU from 40 minutes to six to 12 minutes.

Some routes overlap, so the transportation authority is looking to eliminate redundancy.

Transportation authority officials will be at the DCTA’s central location behind the Wells Fargo building on Hickory Street at 9 a.m. June 26 to collect comments about the proposed changes. The officials want to educate people on using the transportation service and let them know they can use the UNT shuttle.

“That information is taken to our board and they weigh public comments in addition to any recommendations the staff make,” Leggett said.

She stressed that the proposed routes are not set in stone. And for people who will not have access to fixed-route service after the service cuts, Leggett said, DCTA will use an on-demand service much like the one in use in Highland Village.

Jarod Varner, DCTA vice president of bus operations, said a route change is not done without thinking and planning.

“This is something we take very seriously. For the outlined process we follow, the major component is input from the public,” Varner said.

DCTA officials spent a great deal of time analyzing existing ridership and land-use patterns, he added.

The changes will not require the purchase of new buses.

Once the new routes are established, DCTA will look at adding benches, shelters and trash cans for riders at each bus stop, Varner said.

If approved, DCTA is looking at having the new routes ready by the beginning of the 2009-10 school year.

“It just makes sense for them to learn the system one way,” Varner said. “We don’t want to have them start, and then us switch on them.”

BJ LEWIS can be reached at 940-566-6875. His e-mail address is blewis@dentonrc.com .