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Kindle-style “electronic paper” information displays could be rolled out on bus stops across London after a trial was launched.

Transport for London is testing the new screens at a bus stop on Waterloo Bridge and will also install the system in Parliament Square, Piccadilly Circus and Sloane Square in the New Year.

The E Ink displays use the same technology as Amazon’s Kindle e-reading devices to show three screens of information - maps, timetables and real-time arrivals. The interactive displays look similar to the current paper timetables.

Transport chiefs say they are testing the “viability” of the technology and working out the cost of introducing it across the network of 19,000 bus stops.

The test model in Waterloo Bridge is powered by a solar panel which sits on top of the bus stop. Information is transmitted over the 3G telecoms network.

Simon Reed, TfL’s head of bus systems and technology, said: “We’re constantly seeking new and innovative ways to provide the best possible real time information to our passengers to make their journeys easier. 

“This trial has the potential to make a huge difference, giving us the ability to get a variety of real-time travel information to customers at bus stops whilst also cutting waste and increasing efficiency.

“It supplements the wide range of real time and journey planning information we already provide to our customers through our website, direct to customers’ phones or tablets and through our extensive ‘open data’ which now powers over 350 apps.”