It is hard to miss the rising numbers at the gas pumps, and that is the major reason fueling a push to raise bus fares. As the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority looks at its options to close a $1.7 million budget gap for the next fiscal year, it is left with few solutions.

"If we have a choice between cutting service or raising fares, and those are the only two choices we have... we certainly don't want to do this, but we may have to," said Mary MacInnes, Executive Director of PVTA.

PVTA plans to raise the fares of fixed routes by 25-cents, from $1.00 to $1.25 per trip. Paratransit services will jump 50-cents, from $2.00 to $2.50.

"The fares have to keep up with the rising expenses, because the taxpayers are paying for the balance," MacInnes said.

She believes that raising fares will close the gap by about $1 million. The other $700,000 would come from taxpayer dollars. MacInnes added that the rising expenses are coming from rising diesel fuel costs. In the past, PVTA was able to lock in a diesel price at $1.77 per gallon. Now, they have to pay $3.30 per gallon.

"It kept going up, and that's why we couldn't lock in a lower rate. And we're not that optimistic that the fuel prices will be going down any time soon," MacInnes said.

If the options are either to pay more or lose some services, some PVTA riders said they'd rather pay more.

"I think the service is good down here. I think they need to keep it like it is," said Lester Brace, a PVTA rider from Springfield.

"It's not surprising. I'd sure like [the fare] to remain the same, but I understand that to run a bus service, [increases are] going to happen," said Carl Streeter, another PVTA rider.

But some riders said that the whole idea is ridiculous, because the whole point of taking the bus is to save money.

"People are taking the buses now because they can't afford gas, and now they say the price of the bus is going up," Joe Cotton from Springfield said.

PVTA will be holding several public hearings near the end of May. MacInnes said the dates and times will be posted on buses and on PVTA's web site. After the hearings, the PVTA board will vote, and if the fare hike is passed, it will go into effect July 1.