The system will tell passengers when the next bus is due

The system will provide electronic indicator boards at all bus stations, main interchanges and key bus stops in the county.

The airport-style system will be among the largest of its kind in the UK.

The system is being developed in a partnership with local authorities and the bus companies.

More than 30 million bus journeys are made each year in County Durham.

Under the system, information from on-board global positioning system computers will be relayed to electronic overhead displays in bus stations and bus stops.

'Improve reliability'

It will keep passengers up to date with arrival and departure times, delays and any alteration to normal services.

Passengers will also be able to access the same information via their mobile phone text message service and the Internet.

Durham County Council has already spent �500,000 establishing the core control system with contributions from the other stakeholders - Northumberland County Council, the Tees Valley Joint Services Unit representing the five Tees Valley authorities, Nexus, Arriva, Go Ahead and Stagecoach.

Councillor Bob Pendlebury, county council cabinet member for transport, said: "By improving the reliability of bus travel, it should make it a much more popular option and hopefully reduce the levels of congestion on our roads."

He said that since many bus services operate on a cross-county basis, the project will become a regional resource, serving up to north Northumberland to the south of the Tees Valley.