BIAL launches its own taxi service to airport

 The Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) on Thursday became the first airport in the country to have its own taxi services for its passengers.

The fleet has a total of 2,000 cars comprising  brands such as Toyota Etios, Maruti Dzire and  Mahindra Verito. While 1,400 cars were pressed into service on Thursday, the remaining 600 will come into the pool by the end of 2012.

This fleet will be in addition to the existing 550 KSTDC and 800 Meru taxies, BIAL president (operations) Hari Marar said.

The taxis are painted with a signature logo to help commuters identify them easily and will follow a uniform fare policy (Rs 17.50 per km) and will be tracked by Global Positioning Systems (GPS). These vehicles have been given by KSTDC, Meru and Mega cab companies and will operate 24/7.

BIAL also claimed that the fleet will operate with state-of-the-art vehicles, technology and trained chauffeurs. The brand new vehicles are fitted with GPS/GPRS, digital fare meters, printers and POS (point of selling) machines to collect payments. The cabs can be booked via phone, internet or mobile applications, an official said, describing the features of the service.

“We have always been trying to reduce the distance between BIA and the City, and with this, we become the first airport management in the country to have provided an exclusive airport taxi service, which is reliable and accountable,” Marar said.

The three companies will own 50 per cent share of the vehicles and 50 per cent will be owned by the driver himself. He also said that fares have been kept uniform and regularised by the airport authority in consultation with the  companies.

The service has also given employment to over 2,000 drivers and 500 other people managing the call centres and control rooms. The drivers are trained by the respective companies to speak multiple languages, particularly English, Hindi and Kannada. BIA has also trained in defensive driving, Marar added.

The taxis can be booked through 080-44224422, 080-47474747 and 080-49007777.