ATTLEBORO - The poor, elderly and disabled will suffer the most if the regional transit authority cuts bus routes in Attleboro and North Attleboro, speakers at two public hearings said Tuesday.

At an Attleboro hearing attended by about 50 people, speakers said a bus route running from Oakhill Avenue up Park Street to downtown Attleboro designated for elimination is a vital lifeline for the needy.

They said the route connects the poor to a soup kitchen at LaSalette Shrine and the elderly and disabled to doctor's offices, Sturdy Memorial Hospital, Life Care Center of Attleboro and Hope Gardens housing complex.

Hope Gardens houses elderly and disabled residents while Life Care Center is an assisted living facility.

"Without that bus, they can't get to the hospital. They can't get to downtown," one speaker said. The Rev. Brother Bob Russell of LaSalette Shrine said 31 of the 164 people who used the shrine's soup kitchen on a recent night came by way of the bus.

Eliminating the service will hurt the poor the most, he said. "It will be very sad, very sad, if this service was dropped," he said.

Dianne DePippo, president of United Way of Greater Attleboro-Taunton, said the lack of bus service would hurt "the most marginalized and most opposed" segments of society.

The Greater Attleboro-Taunton Regional Transit Authority, or GATRA, is proposing to eliminate and reduce several bus routes throughout its Southeastern Massachusetts service area, including Attleboro and North Attleboro.

GATRA Administrator Frank Gay said the cutbacks are being forced by a lack of funding from the state.

Gay said the agency has a $146,000 budget deficit for this year on top of $261,000 in deficits from previous years.

He said he would rather not reduce service, but he has no choice.

State Sen. James Timilty, D-Walpole, and Rep. John Lepper, R-Attleboro, said regional transit agencies throughout the state are in similar positions.

They said supplemental appropriations of $6 million for this year and $8 million for past years have been proposed, but no action has been taken yet.

Timilty and Lepper said they support the funding. An aide to state Sen. Scott Brown, R-Wrentham, said Brown also backs the additional funding. Timilty also said transit authorities need to modernize with smaller and more fuel efficient buses to hold down costs.

Gay said later that GATRA already uses the smallest commercial bus that is practical, and recently purchased two hybrid buses that operate on electricity.

He did not have ridership numbers readily available for the routes scheduled for elimination, but said the Oakhill Avenue-Park Street ridership is "not that great."

Richard O'Flaherty, president of the union that represents bus drivers, urged the crowd to start a "massive phone call" campaign to convince legislators and the governor to pass the supplemental budgets.

He said the buses not only provide an important service, but are good for the environment because they keep cars off the roads.

Timilty and Lepper said not only is more funding needed, but a new system of budgeting for transit authorities must be devised.

Currently, transit authorities borrow money to operate, and then get funding from the state to repay the loans. That means a significant portion of their money goes toward interest payments rather than services.

Another hearing was held in North Attleboro, where about 40 people - mostly senior citizens - objected to the elimination of a route that connects senior housing complexes with local shopping centers.

Many of those who spoke at the hearing said they would prefer to see the bus route run fewer days per week, rather than be eliminated completely.

Hilda Helms, who lives at Elm Terrace, said she needs the bus to visit her twin sister who lives at Circle Court.

She said that ridership on the route is probably down now because of cold weather.

"In wintertime, some seniors don't feel like going out," she said.

Frank Ouellette of North Attleboro urged more seniors to ride the bus.

"I need the bus," Ouellette said. "I'd be happy if you'd come in here once or twice and go to Wal-Mart."

Carol Lyons, director of the North Attleboro Housing Authority, said eliminating Route 17, will isolate seniors living in Circle Court, and urged GATRA to add the senior housing complexes to the other bus routes in town.

Resident Bonnie Maddox agreed, saying she depends on the bus.

"I can't live without Route 17. I can't drive, I can't get to the supermarket, I can't get my medications," she said. "If you take that route away from us, we're stuck."

JIM HAND can be reached at 508-236-0399 or at jhand@thesunchronicle.com. AMY DeMELIA can be reached at 508-236-0334 or at ademelia@thesunchronicle.com.