And, for the first time, passengers can use smart cards to avoid hassles of booking tickets.

The bus rapid transit system (BRTS) is being planned for two stretches with a combined road length of 59 km. The first, about 18 km long is from Ultadanga to Kamalgaji on EM Bypass and the other between Kalyani to Birati, a distance of 41 km. These corridors will spare the government from buying new buses. The existing high-speed buses operating in Kolkata will be put to better use.

"These buses will move along the dedicated bus bays at no less than 60 km per hour, much higher than the 30-40 km per hour at which buses normally ply in the city," said a senior official of the state urban development department.

Apart from the dedicated lanes, the BRTS will have segregated bus bays, rapid boarding and alighting facilities and, for the first time, smart cards for pre-boarding fare collection and rapid ticketing systems. There will be transit prioritisation at intersections, platforms as high as bus floors to allow for easy boarding and alighting and computer controlled traffic signals to ensure smooth bus movement.

"It will be an efficient, economical, modern urban bus transport arrangement which can move a large number of passengers swiftly," said the official.