PASSENGERS will be able to tell how busy an approaching bus is and when it was last cleaned thanks to an app developed by a Bournemouth company.

The technology business Passenger is to launch myTrip, a new mobile ticketing and tracking app for buses.

The app will let users see information about buses they want to catch, including school and shuttle buses.

Users will be able to buy tickets without cash and see live locations for buses.

They will also be able to use an “enhanced vehicle information” feature which will tell them when the bus was last cleaned and whether it is “quiet”, “moderate” or “busy”, for social distancing purposes.

Westbourne-based Passenger said it intended the app as an affordable way for smaller bus operators to share updates and live journey information.

Sarah Bott, business development director at Passenger, said: “Passenger are so excited to be able to help get the UK bus industry back up and running, whilst keeping essential travellers safe.

“There are hundreds of smaller operators all over the country who might otherwise struggle to communicate important information about bus capacity and cleanliness to their users - plus it’s a step in the right direction towards getting these operators onto a digital platform - making public transport an even better option for travellers.

“Locally we would be very open to speaking to smaller operators in the area. We will be launching in August and for any operators who carry students or ID verified passholders this would be a great way for them to be able to move those verification services to being contact free.”

Users will be able to give feedback to help indicate to others how much space is left on the bus. This information is analysed against data from ticket machines, bus drivers and other sources to produce a reading showing the bus’s capacity.

The app will be free for customers to download.

The magazine Passenger Transport found last year that Passenger had created the UK’s 11 top-rated transport apps.