The cash-strapped Port Authority of Allegheny County is considering changes costing hundreds of thousands of dollars to improve customer service, officials said Wednesday.

"When people become too frustrated for any reason, they'll stop using public transportation. We're trying to maintain, and grow, the ridership we have," said Port Authority spokesman Jim Ritchie.

The agency plans to add about eight customer service representatives to handle an anticipated spike in calls when it launches its new $33 million electronic fare collection system next year, and it is considering spending more than $800,000 on a new interactive phone system that would provide 24-hour customer service.

"We don't want to be in a position where we don't have enough people," Wendy Stern, an assistant general manager at Port Authority, said about plans to add staff when the agency starts rolling out the new ConnectCard system next spring.

ConnectCard will enable riders to pay fares by swiping prepaid cards over electronic readers on fare boxes. Port Authority expects a jump in customer questions when the program starts. Stern could not say whether the new jobs would be permanent. Customer service reps make starting salaries of about $40,000 a year.

Also yesterday, a Port Authority committee proposed spending $805,200 for a new interactive phone system that would provide around-the-clock customer service -- albeit much of it automated.

Frank Gamrat, senior research associate at the Castle Shannon-based Allegheny Institute for Public Policy, didn't question the spending. The institute has been a frequent critic of Port Authority.

"I don't see it as an extravagance. Their legacy costs (for retiree benefits) are eating them alive, but they need to invest back in their operation and become more efficient and more customer-friendly. They are in a fight for customers, and modernizing the system is probably something they need to do," Gamrat said.

The new phone system's features would allow customers calling after business hours -- 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays and 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekends and major holidays -- to get automated information about route schedules and ConnectCard balances by going through a series of prompts. Now, information is not available by phone. Callers can leave a message, but it will not be retrieved until the next business day.

During business hours, callers would have the option of going through the automated service or waiting for the next available representative. Frequent callers who register their phone numbers would go through fewer automated prompts to get information they most commonly call about, such as schedule information on a particular route.

The system could be upgraded to provide real-time service information that factors in delays, trip planning information and service in foreign languages, officials said.

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