Bath's new bus station was declared officially open today.

The £13 million station has been labelled a 'baked bean tin' and a 'busometer' by its critics and sparked protest marches when artists' impressions of the building were first published.

But bosses at bus operator First have said the station, which has been up and running for almost two months, will get people using public transport more effectively.

And the firm's chief executive has pledged that it will attempt to keep a lid on fares rises once new increases come in at the weekend.

Its official launch signals the first element of Bath's £360 million SouthGate development, with the building part of a transport interchange which will also see a £10.5 million revamp of Bath Spa railway station.

First chief executive and deputy chairman Sir Moir Lockhead, who unveiled a plaque at the landmark, said the official opening was a great opportunity to celebrate real investment in Bath.

He insisted: "It doesn't look out of place at all.

"It is a tremendous building, eye-catching and innovative and its position next to the railway station means customers wanting to travel further by public transport will now find it easier to do so."

First is expecting more than 3.6 million passengers to use the bus station every year - with a bus passing through virtually ve3ry minute.

The station is a building of two halves - combining a glass and steel concourse with 16 bus bays and a four-storey rotunda which houses an information desk, offices and customer toilets.

SouthGate senior project manager Martin Tresidder said the bus station was a challenging project but developer Multi was pleased with the end product.

He said: "It is operating extremely well.

"We delivered a fantastic building but a lot of credit goes to First who manage it very well.

"It is really good partnership working."

City MP Don Foster said he had never been a great fan of the design of the bus station building but admitted it had turned out better than he expected.

Mr Foster said: "It is fabulous that we now have a decent bus station.

"It will be amazing when the link between here and the railway station is completed.

"It will be wonderful and enormously beneficial for Bath to have a real transport interchange."

The opening of Bath's bus station also comes three days ahead of a increases in fares across First's west region.

Sir Moir said: "We don't want to put fares up, nobody does.

"But we are in a recession and we are trying to preserve as much of the bus network as we can as we go through the recession.

"Retail in this part of the world is down as it is everywhere.

"The good news is we know the recession at some point will come to an end.

"We will avoid price increases as much as we can from here on."

The First chief executive also welcomed the announcement that the main railway line between Bath and London is to be electrified.

He said: "This railway should have been electrified years ago.

"Its a very important connection between South Wales and London and the South West of England.

"We are at the end of the life of the high speed trains.

"Electrified trains will be faster, lighter and more fuel efficient."

Work is expected to start later this year on improvements to the railway station.