Facing a budget shortfall next year, King County Metro is making plans to reduce its service, including bus routes throughout Renton.

According to a press release, Metro is presently facing a gap of $75 million and while there is hope that the state legislature may step in to fill some of the hole, without new funding, Metro says it will have no choice but to cut service.

To close the gap, they will have to cut 600,000 service hours, about 17 percent of the system. That means 74 of Metro’s 214 routes could be deleted and 107 routes would be reduced or revised while only 33 routes would remain unchanged, though increases in crowding would be expected.

The cuts would come between June and September of next year, with more to follow in 2015.

The county this week did announce some positive news with a new agreement with the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 587 that if ratified, could save some money and some service reductions.

An analysis of the possible cuts by the City of Renton, however, shows that our city would not be hit as hard as others. Six routes would be deleted, 10 routes revised and six would remain unchanged.

It is an overall loss of 4 percent to the Renton area, compared with some areas of the county facing a reduction of 69 percent.

Most of the high ridership routes would be unchanged, including the 101, 102, 140, 153, 169 and 906.

According to a memo prepared by Public Works Administrator Gregg Zimmerman, Metro routes 110, 161, 167, 908DART and 909DART would be the ones deleted.

Route 110 runs from the Longacres Sounder Station, through the Renton Transit Center to North Renton and terminating at the Kenworth/PACCAR plant. It runs 10 trips in each direction per day. According to the memo, however, this route runs parallel to the new RapidRide F-Line, which begins in June, and would have been deleted anyway, though a longer walking distance between stops is expected for most riders.

Route 161 is a peak-hour weekday-only service from the East Hill of Kent to Seattle. It passes through Renton via 108th Avenue Southeast, Carr Road, Lind Avenue and Grady Way. If it is deleted, riders will have to use route 169 which has connections to Seattle through the Renton Transit Center, though the overall trip time will likely increase because of a transfer.

Route 167 is a peak-hour weekday service from Renton to the University District, via the South Renton Park and Ride and the Renton Transit Center. If deleted, riders could use the 101 to Seattle and connect there to the University District.

Route 280 is a night-owl service around Lake Washington, including Renton. It only operates two trips nightly in the early morning hours. No other fixed route options would be available to third-shifters and night owls.

The 908DART route operates weekdays and Saturdays and runs from downtown Renton to Renton Highlands (south of Sunset Boulevard), Renton Technical College and the Maplewood neighborhood. The 105 could provide an alternative for some, but it may require longer walks or drives to transit stops.

The 909DART runs from downtown to the Highlands (north of Sunset) and Kennydale. The 105 and 240 may provide an alternative for some, but again, longer walks to stops will most likely be necessary.

Revisions would also be necessary to the following Metro routes: 105, 106, 107, 111, 114, 143 EX, 148, 240, 342 and 907DART.

For detailed information on the changes, visit metro.kingcounty.gov.

In addition, community meetings are scheduled for the following locations:

• Federal Way: Wednesday, Nov. 20, 6-8 p.m., Federal Way Community Center, 876 South 333rd St., Federal Way

• West Seattle: Tuesday, Dec. 3, 6-8 p.m., Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, 4408 Delridge Way SW, Seattle

• Downtown Seattle: Tuesday, Dec. 10, noon- 2 p.m., Union Station, 401 S. Jackson St., Seattle

• Bellevue: Wednesday, Dec. 11, 6- 8 p.m., Bellevue City Hall, 450 110th Ave. NE, Bellevue

• Kent: Monday, Dec. 16, 6-8 p.m., Kent Commons, 525 Fourth Ave. N, Kent

• Kirkland: Thursday, Jan. 16, 6- 8 p.m., Peter Kirk Community Center, 12421 103rd Ave NE, Kirkland

• Southeast Seattle: Thursday, Jan. 23, 6-8 p.m., South Shore K-8, 4800 South Henderson St., Seattle.