It's hard to cut corners when there aren't any corners to cut.

But it's a decision with which Centre Area Transportation Authority (CATA) may soon be grappling as the bus company's officials negotiate which services will be eliminated from the program if state funding does not increase.

In the past three years, CATA has served a community that is growing at a rate greater than the rate of CATA's incoming revenue. This has put pressure on the company to cut certain services throughout Centre County.

Now, after Gov. Ed Rendell announced his budget proposal last week in which he identified mass transit systems as the top priority, CATA officials are hoping his promises will hold true so the cuts won't continue. But if state funding continues to wane, the consequences could be grave.

Officials say that if state funding does not increase this year, CATA will be forced to cut a minimum of 5 percent of its service. Even though Rendell's proposal is encouraging for the transportation authority, CATA is a service in need of significant funding increases -- perhaps a nearly $500,000 increase by one estimate. We can only hope the cuts will not come. But if they do, the question still lingers: What exactly can CATA cut without significantly compromising its already-sparse service?

Students already complain that they can walk to one end of the campus to the other faster than if they had taken a bus.

Others complain that services from places such as off-campus apartments are few and far between, and that a missed bus could mean a missed day of classes.

When it rains, it pours as riders flock to the already overcrowded buses with hopes of getting a lift and avoiding a trudge through State College's dreary streets. The point is that bus service is already lagging and it clearly won't get any better unless the money pours in from Harrisburg. It's discouraging to see that the state is not sure to provide CATA with the money it needs to compensate for State College's growing community.

It's even more discouraging to think about the effects that even more cuts will have on community members.

More classes will be missed. Other places in State College will be less accessible. And the list goes on.

So, the future isn't promising. But there is perhaps, one positive thing that could come from the fallout of this ordeal -- the university may have less trouble reaching its goal of turning Penn State into a pedestrian-friendly campus.

Because if budget cuts force CATA to hack away further at bus schedules, commuters may be forced to walk -- whether they like it or not.