Yellow-board vehicles look to KSTDC to regain access to the Terminal 1 arrival pickup lanes.
Credit: DH FILE Photo
Bengaluru: Commercial vehicles barred from kerbside pickups at the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) since December are likely to get some relief in the coming week.
Yellow-board vehicles are now banking on the Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation (KSTDC) to regain access to the arrival pickup lanes at Terminal 1 (T1).
Under the proposed system, commercial vehicles seeking kerbside pickups will have to book a slot on the KSTDC platform.
Currently, commercial vehicles not affiliated with Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) must wait at designated parking zones — P3 and P4 —where they get 15 minutes of free parking. Thereafter, drivers pay Rs 100 for 30 minutes and Rs 50 for every additional hour. Aggregators associated with BIAL, including Ola, Uber, Quick Ride and airport taxis, have separate pickup zones.
These rules apply at both T1 and T2. However, the parking zones for T1 are located farther from the terminal, drawing criticism from passengers over the long walk.
“We discussed this with taxi unions, who told us that private customers continue to demand kerbside pickups. Under the new system, a taxi with a confirmed booking can reserve a slot based on the customer’s flight details and access the pickup lanes,” a senior KSTDC official told DH, adding that software development is underway and trial runs will begin soon.
The KSTDC has sought 500 cabs for the pilot starting next week, said G Narayanaswamy, president of the Karnataka Chalakara Okkuta.
“After an inspection by Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh earlier this month, all authorities concerned met and arrived at this solution.
"We’ve been told that access to lanes 2 and 3 will be permitted based on demand,” Narayanaswamy said.
A BIAL spokesperson said the airport operator, in collaboration with KSTDC, plans to introduce a “structured and digitised framework” to allow commercial cabs outside its authorised network to access pickup lanes at T1.
‘Unfair pricing’
Fact-checker Mohammed Zubair highlighted pricing differences between airport cab aggregators on X.
He showed a 31-km trip cost Rs 2,384 on Uber XL, Rs 1,187 on Namma Yatri. “Ola and Uber have dedicated zones, but Namma Yatri users walk to the parking lot,” he wrote.
Other passengers have noticed similar price differences since the new rules. An Uber XL to MG Road cost Rs 2,022 and Rapido Rs 1,707.