POULSBO — After hearing Kitsap Transit Executive Director Dick Hayes speak about changes in the North End on April 12, city officials thought all was well.

However, along with a reduction in its transit district, Kitsap Transit is proposing to cut service to portions of the No. 41 Lincoln Drive route and the No. 43 Viking Avenue route.

Longer service hours and more frequent service are planned for the Olympic College-Poulsbo campus and Olhava shopping areas.

Those changes will be discussed at two public meetings at the Poulsbo Fire Department Monday with the first at 3 p.m. and the second at 7 p.m.

“We want to encourage people to come out and we want to hear what they have to say,” said Kitsap Transit planner Doug Johnson.

The agency has heard from several people who are against the proposed changes, but the need for service in the Olhava area is continuing to increase, Johnson said.

“Health insurance and gas prices are skyrocketing and we’ve got limited resources,” Johnson said. “We’re trying to find ways to provide services to those areas.”

Poulsbo Mayor Kathryn Quade expressed her concern about the changes and met with transit officials prior to Monday’s meeting to find a solution.

“In urban areas, service is supposed to be provided for people, especially the elderly and disabled,” Quade said.

The cuts in service would force many current riders to walk up Finn Hill Road, which would limit their ability to use it, she said.

“I understand cuts have to be made, but we have to be careful where we make them,” Quade said. “Viking Avenue is a major thoroughfare.”

Because of the reductions already made to service on Viking Avenue, bus rider Julia Bandelean said typically she wouldn’t even be able to voice her opposition to the cuts at the meeting.

Many residents of the Windsong Apartments, which are nestled behind the Les Schwab Tire Center on Viking Avenue, rely on the transit system as their sole means of transportation, Bandelean said.

“People in here ride the bus all the time and it’s another whole world for us,” she said.

Because of the regular bus service, Bandelean said not having to worry about a vehicle and its maintenance has made life easier for her and many of her neighbors.

“It didn’t bother me a bit because I knew I had this service,” she said.

After talking with Kitsap Transit officials Thursday morning, Bandelean said they offered to provide her an ACCESS bus to attend Monday’s meeting, but she remains concerned about her neighbors who may not have that opportunity.

For those unable to attend either of Monday’s public meetings, Johnson said comments about the changes can be made by visiting Kitsap Transit’s Web site at www.kitsaptransit.org and filling out the online comment form or by calling customer service at (360) 373-2877.