Pulaski Area Transit, the town's first publicly run transportation service, begins operations at 8 a.m. The service will run until 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, and have 26 stops along major streets, apartment complexes and shopping centers from Case Knife Road and Randolph Avenue to Bob White Boulevard and Memorial Drive. Funded through a state Department of Rails and Public Transportation grant, the service will cost $171,000, including an $8,000 match from the town. For its first three months, PAT will use three buses owned by New River Valley Senior Services, said program director Gary Heinline, who will also serve as the transit system manager.

New 12-passenger, wheel-chair- accessible mini-buses paid for by a $90,000 federal grant and a 20 percent local match should arrive by early next year, Heinline said.

In a town which in the 2000 census recorded 17 percent of its households without a car, the service should be well received.

"I think we'll have customers who use it," said Hayes Goad, pharmacist at CVS drug store in Memorial Shopping Plaza. "I know I see people waiting on cabs or rides with their groceries every morning when I get here."

But Goad said he doubted the service would ever actually pay for itself.

"I think it will be a great convenience for those who need it, but I don't think we have the concentration of riders here to make it break it," he said.

Heinline conceded as much.

"I'm not sure I know of a single public transit system that pays for itself," he said. "To make it affordable you can never make up what you get in grant funding. You do it because people need it."

Heinline has hired four part-time drivers for the service.

One-way fares are 75 centson the service's fixed route. Curb-to-curb service can be ordered 24 hours in advance for $2 each way.

Heinline expects the route and hours to evolve over time as he evaluates ridership concentrations.

Special services to events or for Saturday shopping near Christmastime may also be added.

Either way, Patty Cox and Lola Frye are happy to see the transit service up and running.

Both women live in Pulaski Village retirement center and usually depend on cabs to get to the grocery store or doctor appointments.

Frye, 79, on Thursday had already called in a dedicated ride to her beauty shop.

"I think this is just wonderful," said Frye. "A cab ride cost $3.75 one way for the shortest trip and they charge an extra 75 cents for an additional stop if you have to go by the bank or something on the way."

Cox, 70, said she uses a cab at least twice a week. At $3.75 both ways, that adds up to at least $15 a week.

"A four-minute walk from Pulaski Village to Food Lion will cost $3.75 just to get there and a lot of residents here just can't make that walk," said Cox. "I try to walk there and get a cab back to save money. For those of us on a fixed income, it will be a world of help."

For more information, call Pulaski Area Transit at 980-5040.