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Montgomery County Ride On bus drivers say they don't know much about the $2 million in bus service cuts proposed by County Executive Isiah Leggett (D).

What they do know is that as many as 44 of them could lose their jobs, and hundreds of riders will be inconvenienced and upset, said Rachelle Crockett, who has driven a Ride On bus for almost three years.

The elimination of some routes and trip reductions on others will mean that riders will wait longer for buses, and some neighborhood stops are likely to be eliminated, she said.

As for her job, Crockett of Silver Spring said layoffs typically are decided on seniority, and at least 100 other drivers were hired after she was.

"I just keep coming to work," Crockett said. "That's about all I can do."

Leggett on Thursday proposed $70 million in midyear budget cuts, including 44 layoffs and funding slashes affecting bus transit, education and libraries.

The county executive recommends eliminating 70 positions — 44 of which are filled. The majority of the positions — 52 — belong to bus drivers.

Leggett's proposal calls for a $2.7 million cut in transit, including about $2 million from the county's Ride On bus service.

"If you're eliminating routes, then obviously you have need for fewer bus drivers," said county spokesman Patrick Lacefield, referring to the layoffs.

The eliminated routes fall below a "sustainable threshold" or would impact fewer riders than cuts or reductions on other routes, county officials said earlier this week.

Thirty-nine weekday, evening and weekend Ride On bus routes would be affected.

The proposed reductions and cuts are scheduled for a public hearing at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 1 at the county Executive Office Building cafeteria, 101 Monroe St., Rockville.

United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1994/Municipal and County Government Employees Organization President Gino Renne said he planned to meet with Leggett on Tuesday to discuss alternatives to employee layoffs and service reductions.

Renne criticized the practice of allowing department heads to suggest ways to cut their own budgets, saying they typically cut lower-level employees and county services first.

In December, county Chief Administrative Officer Timothy Firestine sent a memo asking department heads, Montgomery County Public Schools, Montgomery College and Montgomery County Planning Board officials to suggest budget cuts in fiscal 2010 and fiscal 2011.

"Management historically holds themselves harmless," Renne said.

Renne suggested trimming the county budget by eliminating some midlevel and upper-level management positions through retirements or by offering retirement incentives.

MCGEO represents Ride On bus drivers.

The total fiscal 2010 budget is $4.4 billion. Leggett has cut about $1.2 billion from the county's past three budgets.

In November, the Montgomery County Council approved $30 million in cuts to the current, fiscal 2010 budget. Even with those cuts and Leggett's most recent proposal, the county is facing a $608 million budget shortfall in fiscal 2011.

In a memo spelling out his proposed cuts, Leggett asked County Council members to quickly approve the budget reductions.

The proposal includes about $2 million in cuts to Health and Human Services and calls for about $6.8 million less in police spending, including a $4.6 million reduction in fees paid to the county's speed camera contractor.

Leggett's cuts also call for reducing spending by keeping some vacant positions open and cutting back on office expenses.

Under the proposal, $22 million would be cut from the Montgomery County Public Schools budget, and Montgomery College stands to lose $1.7 million.

Montgomery County Council President Nancy M. Floreen (D-At large) of Garrett Park called Leggett's proposal a preview of cuts the council will be asked to make in the fiscal 2011 budget.

The council is likely to vote on Leggett's fiscal 2010 proposal in February. It was unclear when the layoffs would take effect if the cuts are approved.

"It's really starting to hit our residents," Floreen said of the budget cuts. "We've done our very best to protect them, but the rubber really is hitting the road now."

Tonya Linton, who has been driving a Ride On bus for almost five years, said if she loses her job, she'll use her commercial drivers license to find work elsewhere.

Linton, like other drivers, drives many different routes. One of her routes, 61, could lose some of its weekday evening trips under Leggett's proposal.

Linton agreed with Renne, saying the county is quick to "cut from the bottom," rather than the top.

"People are losing their jobs," she said. "[County officials] are not thinking."

Robert E. Greene of Laytonsville said he was glad Ride On bus route 90 was not designated for cuts. Greene takes the bus each weekday from his home to Shady Grove, where he meets the Metro to commute to work at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda.

Previous cuts to Ride On bus service already have affected people he knows, Greene said while waiting for a bus to take him home Monday evening.

"A lot of people depend on Ride On," he said.