THE former operator of Melbourne's train network will take over 30 per cent of the city's buses this weekend.
Transdev Melbourne's contract to run 52 bus routes, mainly in the city's east and west, and the SmartBus orbitals, starts early Sunday morning.
The parent company of Connex Melbourne won the contract, which runs for seven years with the option of an additional three, from Ventura and Melbourne Bus Link in April.
It will receive financial bonuses and penalties depending on how many passengers it carries, the first a performance regime has been included in a Victorian bus contract.
Transdev Melbourne CEO Edward Thomas said the company was excited to start running buses.
''Our focus (on Sunday) and in the first week is on a safe and seamless handover; in the coming months we will start to deliver improvements that will be welcomed by our customers,'' Mr Thomas said.
Public Transport Victoria CEO Ian Dobbs said in April that Transdev Melbourne's bid represented the best value for taxpayers and focused on customer service, creating a more reliable network and increasing bus patronage.
Metro replaced Connex as Melbourne's train operator in November 2009.
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