STEPHANIE KLEIN-DAVIS The Roanoke Times

Smart Way bus passengers bide their time while traveling between Roanoke and Blacksburg. (From left) Tim Dayton, 54, manages the Summer Project Youth camp in Blacksburg and lives in Roanoke. He rides the bus regularly. Rose Bower, 46, who lives in downtown Roanoke, rides to Blacksburg for her job as an administrator at Baker Hughes. Linda Mihalik of Blacksburg uses the bus to pick up her car at the airport, and Sam Knapp, 32, of Roanoke works for a private company in Blacksburg and rides the bus daily to and from work.

The Smart Way bus service between the Roanoke and New River valleys has encountered a glitch that is affecting the comfort of some passengers and, some of them say, putting the bus in the slow lane.

One of four Smart Way motor coaches is out of service because of engine trouble. Valley Metro has designated a city bus to make its runs.

During the two or three months since the vehicle switch occurred, passengers accustomed to high-back, cushioned seats are riding on hard plastic. The city bus also lacks wireless Internet, a free service of Smart Way.

Plus, the driver goes through Elliston and Shawsville on U.S. 460 because the city bus is not designed for interstates. Part of the regular route requires ascending and descending Christiansburg Mountain on Interstate 81.

Officials said the bus still runs on time.

Passenger Carrie Boyd of Blacksburg has had a different experience commuting to her job in downtown Roanoke four days a week using Smart Way.

When the city bus is used, "it adds a good 10 to 15 minutes to your commute," she said. And, "it's obviously not very comfortable."

Valley Metro General Manager Carl Palmer said Thursday the situation is likely to be temporary. Palmer said his office is both looking into purchasing a new engine for the broken-down bus for $10,000 and purchasing a new fleet of buses for $490,000 apiece.

The broken-down bus did not fail while in use. It began making noises and Valley Metro took it out of service.

Terry Russell, director of transportation of Valley Metro, said Valley Metro's mechanics have kept the five-year-old Smart Way bus fleet in great shape. The vehicles have safely gone farther than the expected total mileage of 350,000 miles, he said, exceeding 400,000 miles.

But they won't last forever.

Palmer cautioned that the agency must first receive state approval to buy new buses. Palmer's team has its eye on four 57-seat vehicles from Motor Coach Industries, a Schaumburg, Ill., bus manufacturer. The current fleet of Smart Way buses consists of 30-seat Freightliners.

Three blue Smart Way coaches are still in use and carry most passengers along the regular route.

The Smart Way ride service, run by Valley Metro in Roanoke, connects downtown Roanoke and Virginia Tech, a distance of about 50 miles, for $3 one-way. The fare is going up to $4 on July 1.

It is popular with valley-to-valley commuters, students heading to and from Roanoke Regional Airport and others. Average daily usage is 160 passengers, officials said.