Metro riders may need to wait longer for trains on weekends or could lose out on some discounted bus trips in the District starting this fall. But they won’t be asked to pay more for overall Metro service or face other substantial cuts to their buses and trains, under a plan approved by Metro’s board of directors on Thursday.

Metro’s board approved a slate of options on ways to close a $72.5 million budget gap that it will present to riders in a series of public hearings next month. The board likely won’t finalize the proposed $1.47 billion operating budget until late June and the changes wouldn’t take place until September. But in choosing the limited list, they took the important step this week of closing the door on other major cuts.