PERTH-based transport group Stagecoach is launching a pilot scheme in south east England to test a new system that will allow real-time bus times to be supplied via display boards at bus stops, smartphone applications and the internet.

The multi-million pound vehicle location system will build on existing ticketing system technology in its vehicles.

Work on a pilot is expected to be completed by summer 2014, with the system fully deployed across its 7000-strong bus fleet in late 2015.

Robert Montgomery, managing director of Stagecoach UK Bus, said: "New technology is opening up new ways to make travel easier for our customers and Stagecoach has a track-record of being at the forefront of transport innovation.

"Passengers want certainty over when their bus will arrive. Investment in this new system will help deliver a platform to provide better journeys for our customers, more cost-effective information provision by local authorities and improve the efficiency of our own operation.

"We hope this new technology will help encourage car users to make the switch to greener, smarter bus travel."

Stagecoach awarded the contract to supply and support the new real-time information system to Australia's VIX Technology, which has carried out similar transport projects worldwide.

Stagecoach said it will be the first major UK bus operator to use ticketing system technology in this way nationally.

It also hopes the system will help it to improve bus schedule efficiency and service performance.

It will be based on Stagecoach's existing VIX TP5000 ticket machines which support smartcards, such as concessionary bus passes and multi-journey tickets.

Peter Eccleson, director of VIX UK and Ireland, said: "The new solution will aggregate large volumes of real-time transport network data to deliver critical business intelligence to Stagecoach.

"This will help them to drive continuous improvements in operational efficiency and service delivery.

"It will also enable the delivery of information to passengers on their journey options, allowing them to make decisions more easily."

Stagecoach, headed by co-founder and chairman Sir Brian Souter, runs bus services in east and west Scotland as well as the Highlands.

Its presence in England includes major cities such as Manchester and Sheffield, as well as more rural areas such as Oxfordshire.

Around 2.5 million passengers travel on Stagecoach's buses every day, it calculates.

The pilot scheme has been launched as Stagecoach also prepares to launch a double-decker sleeper service next week starting with a route running to London from Falkirk, Dunfermline, and Edinburgh.

Stagecoach announced in April that it is introducing a network of overnight sleeper coach services to link London with the likes of Aberdeen, Dundee, Glasgow and Inverness.

The double-deck coaches have leather seats with tables, power sockets, wireless internet and a toilet. The vehicles have 55 seats that convert into 42 beds.

Stagecoach is also considering running a similar service in the United States through its rapidly expanding Megabus service there. At the end of last month, Stagecoach posted increased underlying pre-tax profits of £218.9m for the year to the end of April, up from £202.5m a year earlier.

The company has not suffered the fall-off in demand for bus services experienced by its arch-rival FirstGroup.

The Aberdeen-based group has slimmed down its bus operation after demand in Scotland and the north of England was hit by the economic downturn and ill-timed fare increases.