PASSENGERS will soon be told if York's buses are running late while they wait at the bus stop.

Work is now being carried out on the city's bus stops so the high-tech system will be up and running from the start of December.

Stops along the Rawcliffe Park & Ride and Stamford Bridge to Poppleton routes will be equipped with signs, showing exactly when the next bus will arrive. Passengers will also be able to get timetable information by texting on their mobile phone.

The initiative is part of the £900,000 Bus Location and Information Sub System (BLISS), which uses state-of-the-art technology to beam information from buses to bus stops. Principal engineer Julie Hurley, who is heading the project at City of York Council, said the shelters were being connected to power now so the signs could go up at the start of December.

She said the buses had already been fitted with an on-board computer and a satellite navigation and communications device.

"It will take the uncertainty out of public transport. If someone is waiting for a Park & Ride bus and the sign says it will be ten minutes, they can pop to the shop for a paper without worrying about missing the bus," she said.

She added that the signs would be very useful if one of the buses was involved in an accident and became severely delayed.

Preparation work is also being carried out on stops in Fulford Road to make them ready for the system sometime next year.

BLISS is part of the council's five-year £50 million local transport plan, which aims to discourage car use and introduce viable alternatives.

The system will eventually allow late-running buses to alert traffic signals and secure longer green lights to get through junctions.

It is hoped that once the system is introduced city-wide over the next two years, more people will choose to travel by bus rather than car.

Updated: 08:36 Thursday, October 16, 2003