COMFORT Zone

COMFORT Zone
BIAL will make available a fleet of almost 900 taxis with a range of comfort and pricing options. Some of the existing fleet at HAL may be deployed for this purpose. The rest of the taxis at HAL can carry on there, if the plan to set up malls at HAL airport is implemented, say R Krishnakumar and Prashanth G N
TIMES NEWS NETOWRK

Bangalore: As the Bengaluru International Airport (BIA) in Devanahalli shifts to take-off mode, airport operators are pegging taxi facilities to a promise of variety and passenger safety. BIAL has tied up with four service providers — operating in different segments — for taxi services at the greenfield airport. On the airport’s launch, about 900 taxis will be operating in exclusive arrangement with BIAL.
Passengers can also have their own pick-up arrangements, but four exclusive service operators come with a stamp of assurance. “This being an international airport, we have to meet certain quality standards. By bringing in different operators, we are ensuring efficiency in services. Further, with these services, there’s no question of discrepancies in fares and passenger safety is taken care of as well,” explained a BIAL spokesperson.
MERU and Easycab will provide the basic taxi services (basic A/C box cars) at the airport. Pre- and post-paid taxi facilities will be available on meter charges at Rs 15 per km. BIAL has also offered KSTDC — that operates services in the HAL airport — 100 taxi licences. These will be sub-contracted to MERU and Easycab.
Hertz and Akbar Travels will be BIAL’s partners in the limousine and car rental operations. The Hertz’ fleet of 30 Mercedes C & E class cars will be increased during the airport’s expansion phase. Passengers can avail of limousine services at dedicated counters at the terminal building, based on special tariffs. Across the segments, cars will be equipped with GPS and GPRS to ensure that the passenger is tracked all along the trip.
Self-drive option: The airport also offers the self-drive option, under which cars will be given to licenceholding passengers with a full fuel tank. The cars have to be returned with a full fuel tank. Passengers can avail of flexible pick-up and drop-off facilities, the official said. More than 30 cars across the compact, intermediate and standard categories apart from MUVs and SUVs will operate as part of this service. The fares will depend on the type of car taken.The BIA car parking lot can accommodate 2,000 passenger cars. The parking fees will be Rs 50 for four hours and Rs 40 for two hours.
Hal Airport: Moving away
from slab fares
The number of taxis operating from HAL airport is roughly 450-500. Of this, the largest number of taxis operated belong to the KSTDC, which is 350, while 50-60 are run by Akbar Travels, 40-50 by Bangalore Airport Taxi Union and rest by individual “side pick-up operators”.
Of the 500, there are different segments ranging from the ordinary taxi to mid-segment to luxury. The costing is largely based on a fixed, slab system where fare is decided by the locality a passenger is travelling to. The fares can begin from Rs 150, go on to Rs 200, Rs 250, Rs 400, Rs 500 and above depending on the area/distance travelled. “It is an easily understandable fare system. All a passenger has to do is to look at the board on which the area and distance and fare is mentioned. Once that is clear, there is no confusion about payments,” an airport official said.
The slab system has fixed fares for areas which eliminates all discussion on how much a passenger has to pay. The fare will be the same for the competitors, though the comfort factor and the condition of the car would in the end determine which operator a passenger would choose to travel in.
While luxury cars will charge more owing to the comfort factor, the ordinary and mid-segment will have uniform charges among themselves. Depending on the class of taxi hired, the difference in charge ranges from Rs 250 to Rs 800 and more.
BIAL would have metered fares. The metered fares could be higher or lower than the slab system. But as the overall level of comfort being offered would be of a higher order, the fares could be a bit higher, as they have to factor in the longer distances to be covered from Devanahalli. A high minimum alone would ensure qualitative comforts, according to taxi operators.
While 40-50 taxis would be utilised at BIAL, some taxi operators would be retained at HAL airport “in case malls and shopping complexes come up”. And if that is not the case, “a few taxi services would be utilised for visit of aerospace and defence personnel as HAL has plans to set up an MRO and defence training schools”. But a significant portion of the drivers will have to find other jobs as their contract would end with the closure of HAL airport. They could bargain and work as independent operators at BIAL, provided they pay parking fee for the time they are parked at BIAL.
Govt take: Officials have suggested to BIAL that “it win over the confidence of the locals” not only to help locals get employment, but more as a matter of conviction that BIAL is “sensitive to locals”. Officials have requested that BIAL employ locals at all levels including taxi drivers’ positions. They have specifically requested BIAL to send an advisory to taxi operators to employ local drivers. The BIAL has also been requested to consider more licences for KSTDC taxis which have been operating for almost 10 years from HAL airport. KSTDC has 350 drivers who have served in the taxi sector for almost 10 years. Atleast 150 more taxis be considered as part of the sub-contract with the other taxi operators. This will give KSTDC a significant presence. It would be ideal if KSTDC gets a separate space. They will ensure that standards set by BIAL are met.

• Four taxi operators to take care of services, including those from KSTDC which are sub-contracted to the operators

• Fleet of 900 taxis to operate from BIA

• Basic box car services at Rs 15 per km

• GPRS-equipped cars to ensure passenger safety

• Limos, Mercs to operate in premium segment

• Self-drive option incorporated into BIA plan