JUSTIN COOK The Roanoke Times

Blacksburg Transit officials talk in the Kmart parking lot in Christiansburg before a practice run Friday. In addition to giving employees the chance to run the planned routes and make any changes needed before it starts, the exercise also was an effort to help make residents aware that they will see transit vehicles and staff around Christiansburg.

CHRISTIANSBURG -- The town's streets will soon include some new vehicles.

Blacksburg Transit personnel started learning the lay of the land and different locations in Christiansburg on Friday during a mock service demonstration that was intended to help employees prepare for the expanded service in town.

The service is expected to start in late fall, but an exact date has not been determined. The practice run gave transit employees the chance to run the planned service and make any changes needed before it starts, transit officials said.

The demonstration also was an effort to help make residents aware that they will see more transit vehicles and staff around Christiansburg.

"It's kind of like that first introduction to Blacksburg Transit," said Transit Director Rebecca Martin.

The practice run included trips to different parts of Christiansburg, including a circulator service around the New River Valley Mall that drove by nearby stores, such as Walmart, Target, Home Depot and Kmart.

Transit personnel took part in the service exercise in different ways, such as by serving as drivers, navigators with maps, timers and pretend passengers, transit officials said.

Once the afternoon exercise was over, employees were going to regroup and talk about the day's events and what improvements were needed.

The initial reaction to the mock demonstration was positive.

"I think it's going really well," said Jenny Mills, access supervisor with Blacksburg Transit. "Everybody seems to be doing well."

Transit officials received responses last year that indicated an interest in the service in Christiansburg.

According to a survey Blacksburg Transit had conducted in Christiansburg last year, 60 percent of respondents indicated interest in the system, with 27 percent saying they were "very likely" to use the new Christiansburg routes if they began this year and 33 percent saying they were "somewhat likely."

There were 3,777 people who responded to the survey.

"There is a lot of excitement behind it," Nichole Hair, a planner with the town of Christiansburg, said about the service.

The Christiansburg service is planned to include a downtown loop, which will move riders around the downtown area to destinations such as the courthouse, post office, library and local businesses, Fiona Rhodes, marketing specialist with Blacksburg Transit, wrote in an e-mail.

A mall circulator service will transport riders around the New River Valley Mall and other shops in the Arbor Drive, Conston Avenue, Market Street, Peppers Ferry Road area.

Another planned service is the flex route that will take residents from their neighborhood to any location in Christiansburg and will operate on a call-ahead basis. The route will not follow a set time schedule, according to Rhodes.

Routes were developed based on resident input from the Christiansburg bus survey in 2008.

New personnel also will be coming on board to help with the expanded service.

The Blacksburg Town Council approved an ordinance earlier this month that authorizes the creation of additional full-time and part-time positions to provide operations, maintenance and administration support for the additional Christiansburg service, according to a report to the council from Martin.

Blacksburg Transit is a department of the town of Blacksburg.

In May, the Christiansburg Town Council approved its budget, which included local operating and capital funding of $200,500 to support the transit service expansion in the town.

With federal and state matching funds, Christiansburg's total operating budget for transit is $401,000, according to Martin's report.

The new positions added for the additional Blacksburg Transit services are two full-time positions, which are a mechanic and financial analyst. There are also 10 new part-time positions that include bus operators, a scheduler and receptionist, according to the report.

The report also states that Blacksburg Transit will be increasing the fleet by 11 buses, four of which are related to the new Christiansburg expanded service. The vehicles for the Christiansburg service are expected to arrive in late fall.