Cyclists and pedestrians deterred by Canberra's chilly winter can escape the cold by catching the new "city loop" bus service between the city, New Acton, the ANU and Braddon from Monday.
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The new bus loop coincides with the launch of Transport Canberra, a replacement of the old Transport and Municipal services agency which joins buses, light rail and active travel.
The transport information centre at the civic bus interchange has also been upgraded with iPads for commuters to navigate timetables, power-points for charging phones and new seating.
Transport Minister Meegan Fitzharris expects a high demand for the city loop service running every 15 minutes from 7am-7pm weekdays, particularly among ANU students.
The route follows Northbourne Avenue as far as Haig Park and down Mort Street, around the city, through London Circuit to Marcus Clarke Street, and up to Barry Drive.
She first announced the service last month as part of $17 million in bus funding in the ACT budget, which includes a $900,000 trial of electric buses, a new park-and-ride area in Wanniassa and a new bus depot in Woden while the Woden bus interchange is also improved.
Ms Fitzharris estimated that the city loop cost around $700,000 a year ro run.
She denied that the plan was a rip-off of the Liberals proposed rapid bus network announced in March, which includes six new express lines, a simplified timetable and routes designed to mirror commuter driving patterns.
"The Labor Government introduced rapid bus services to Canberra," she said.
"At the end of August, we will see new lines servicing Weston Creek and Molonglo Valley, and new services to Crace and Florey and Latham, and we will be announcing more rapid services in the coming weeks and months as well."
A single ticketing system would be used for buses and the new tram, with the same ticket price for both.
Director general of Transport Canberra Emma Thomas said the rebranded information centre would help locals and tourists navigate public transport more easily.
"People can look up information real-time to see where the buses are coming and where to catch it," she said.
"We are focusing a lot more on the information people need to know where they are going and catch public transport."
