Angry straphangers on Staten Island told the MTA at a Tuesday night meeting that they are sick and tired of being shortchanged when it comes to mass transit options. Borough Reporter Amanda Farinacci filed the following report.

For many North Shore residents, taking the S42 bus line is the only way to go through neighborhoods known for steep hills. Many residents do not have cars, and getting up and down the roads on foot can be difficult for senior citizens and small children. Yet the S42 is one of the lines the Metropolitan Transportation Authority wants to cut to ease its budget gap.

"People who can't take this bus are going to have to go a steep and heavy hill, which is okay to do in the summer but you can't really do it the winter," said one Staten Islander. "And it's just one of the cuts that are going to be done in Staten Island, where there are relatively, vastly few amounts of transportation alternatives."

Under the MTA's plan, the S42 is one of 17 local and express bus lines that will either offer limited routes and schedules or go away completely.

The proposed cuts drew more than a thousand people to the College of Staten Island in Willowbrook on Tuesday night for a marathon MTA public hearing. Attendees complained about the borough deals with $11 tolls on the Verrazano Bridge, a lack of a subway system and overcrowded existing buses.

"I think it's totally unacceptable," said one local at the meeting. "The MTA cries about its deficit every single year. It's time that they find another way to close the gap aside from service cuts and fare hikes."

Besides saying how the budget cuts would affect them, locals also wanted to know exactly how the MTA is facing such a massive deficit.

"Why are we paying more as a whole? Whether you ride the bus or not, your taxes are paying for these services and yet these services are being reduced," said a resident. "What is being done with the money? The public would like to know. And also, what is being done to prevent this from happening again and again and again?"

MTA Board member Alan Cappelli, the group's only member from Staten Island, said he understands the frustration and that the agency is listening to what people have to say.

"I'm hoping that we will be able to spare some of these cuts that I think are just terrible for everybody," said Cappelli.

Many other residents at the meeting shared the same hope.