KIA may get 800 more taxis, two more operators

The Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) here is likely get 800 more taxis to cater to increased passenger numbers once the second runway and terminal become operational.

It is learnt that the airport operators are on the lookout for two professionally managed and experienced taxi operators to run air-conditioned taxi services. These will be in addition to the taxis operated by the Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation (KSTDC), Meru and Mega Cabs.

Each of the proposed new operators will be allocated a minimum of 400 taxis for the first year. They will have to operate their own call centres and use their own technology.

The taxis will be fitted with Global Positioning System (GPS), General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) system with MDT (Mobile Data Terminal) for monitoring, control and safety reasons.

To avoid tariff wars on the lines of Ola and Uber on airport-city routes, the taxi rates by new operators will have to be strictly within the regulations of the State Transport Authority. As a security measure, all the taxis will be equipped with a Radio Frequency Identity (RFID) badge that would allow access to the taxi holding area at the Airport.

The RFID badge and the unique taxi number are linked to a car plate number as registered with the Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL). Over 1,000 taxis attached to KSTDC, Meru and Mega Cabs ferry passengers in and out of the airport.

While these operate under the BIAL’s Airport Taxis banner, Ola and Uber have their own fleet with exclusive passenger pick-up zones.  BIAL had visualised the ‘Airport Taxi’ concept and started operating the services in 2012.