RALEIGH — City leaders will hold a kickoff ceremony this morning for Raleigh's downtown circulator bus.

The new route, called the R-Line, loops through the city center every few minutes and is free to riders. It's designed to allow out-of-town visitors and residents traveling downtown by car, bus or train the ability to get around easier.

Mayor Charles Meeker and others will officially launch the service at 8:30 a.m. at a ceremony in front of the convention center on Salisbury Street.

The hybrid-electric R-Line buses will be adorned with a new logo that is part of a branding campaign being introduced by the Downtown Raleigh Alliance.

The tagline for the Downtown Raleigh Alliance's new branding campaign is "You R Here." It includes the launch of a Web site, www.yourhere.com, where people can find information about businesses and events downtown.

The Raleigh City Council increased its transit subsidy by about 20 percent this year to help pay for a number of service upgrades, including the circulator.

david.bracken@newsobserver.com or 919-829-4548