The website for transport operator Nexus, which, as previously revealed by The Drum, has been developed by Orange Bus, is set to go live next week.

The Newcastle digital agency picked up two tenders from Nexus which saw it overhaul the website and apply new technology to improve its services and schedules for customers.

Through the introduction of real time data, Bus and Metro passengers in the North East will be able to check the status of transport and live travel news online.

The new site and content management system has been built on top of the open source Drupal platform, which will provide new applications such as destination related information such as restaurants and local attractions.

The site will also alert customers if their travel passes are close to expiry giving them a chance to renew online.

Mike Parker, co-founder of Orange Bus has previously worked on public transport digital projects, having previously created an advanced collaborative data sharing system for Mersey Travel and its North West Data Group transport Partners.

Parker said: “Moving forward, we are trying to work out how much real-time data is available out there and are very excited at the thought of using this as there is great potential. With the amount of work that has gone into enabling real-time GPS for bus networks in the North East, it seems an ideal time to tap into that, so we’re researching just what is possible at the moment.

“To be able to link all means of public transport into real-time would help create a more efficient service and an easy-to-use planning guide for customers.

 “We have many more exciting ideas and innovative plans utilising new digital technologies which we plan to develop over the next few years so we hope to continue our relationship with Nexus.”