Twitter trial for Somerset bus services

Somerset bus service updates are to be tweeted in a trial of a new service using the social-networking website to keep passengers up-to-date.

The new Twitter service is being carried out by North Somerset Council (NSC) on WebberBus Superlink buses in Weston-super-Mare from Monday.

Passengers can access the service either online, via a smartphone or by signing up to a phone texting service.

Councillor Elphan Ap Rees said: "If it's successful we will keep it going."

The NSC's public transport Twitter trial will be available from 09:00 to 17:00 BST, Monday to Friday, on the 4/4A, 16, 83 and 85 bus services.

Mr Ap Rees, the council's deputy leader, said: "We are always looking for ways to improve our communication with local bus passengers to let them know of any disruptions or changes to services, and we think this could be an excellent opportunity.

"We carried out a similar experiment earlier in the year to keep residents up to date on the progress of some roadworks in Blagdon; we will review this trial in October and depending on the level of sign-up decide to continue to tweet or not."