HONOLULU -- The city's plan for bus riders to use new, high-tech smart cards is nearly a year and a half behind schedule, but it is slowly lurching into existence.

Bus officials say some of the new equipment is not working properly.

Commuters across the country have used smart cards for years. Electronic readers deduct the value for each bus or train trip and riders recharge them by purchasing more value at transit stations or retail shops.

New smart card machines were supposed to be installed on Honolulu's city buses by this past Wednesday after more than a year of delays. However, about half of the buses KITV 4 News checked at Ala Moana Center Thursday still had plastic bags covering the spots where the new machines are supposed to go.

For city buses with the smart card machines, bus officials and several drivers report big problems.

"It's not working?" KITV 4 News reporter Keoki Kerr asked.

"Mine is not. It's out of service. So, until it gets hooked up, then it won't be working," bus driver Artie Ohelo said.

City officials overseeing the project claim there are no systematic mechanical or electronic problems. Instead, they claim drivers aren't logging into the machines correctly.

"Yeah, it's working. It's fine, I guess," bus driver Martin Asuncion said.

The city originally planned to start using smart cards on all city buses by July 2003, nearly a year and a half ago. But, after a series of four or five delays, the new system still isn't up and fully running.

City officials said the new units should be installed on all buses by Saturday. The most recent setback is being blamed on a shipping delay from the factory.

"Seems like they want to get things going, but it's not going the way they want it to work. I think they're rushing a lot," bus driver Joseph Iokia said.

City officials said the only way to adequately test smart cards is with a small number of bus pass holders. About 1,000 people have the cards now, working out the glitches before the program expands early next year.