Bengaluru airport faces backlash for reducing BMTC bus bays at Terminal 1

Bengaluru: Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) has come under criticism for reducing on-ground space for Vayu Vajra bus services at Terminal 1 (T1) of the Kempegowda International Airport.

Earlier, Vayu Vajra buses operated from 14 dedicated bays at T1, with an average waiting time of about 30 minutes. This has now been reduced to six bays, with buses allowed to halt for barely 10 minutes.

Since the airport opened in 2008, Vayu Vajra buses have been among the most preferred modes of airport transport owing to their accessibility and affordability. They also remain the only public transport option serving the airport.

According to the BMTC, until May 2025, T1 had two lanes for Vayu Vajra buses, with six to eight bays in each lane. This has now been cut to a single lane with six bays, after the former bus bays were reportedly taken over by cab aggregator Quick Ride.

With just a narrow lane to operate all 156 Vayu Vajra schedules across 22 routes, congestion has increased, leaving drivers struggling to maintain operations.

“The entire system is now rushed. Earlier, buses could wait for 20–25 minutes and leave the airport full. Now, they have less than 10 minutes, so they don’t run at full capacity. If a passenger is even two minutes late, they must wait 30 minutes to an hour for the next bus. We are losing passengers because of this,” a BMTC staff member at the airport said.

BMTC data shows that daily ridership, which averaged around 12,000, has dropped by about 1,000 since the reduction in bus bays.

During a DH visit to the airport on Thursday, several passengers were seen enquiring about schedules, but few waited for buses to arrive.

Strain on drivers

The move has also put additional strain on drivers.

“Since we can’t park at T1, we have to go all the way to P7, which is about 2–3 km away. With this constant movement, we don’t even get time to eat lunch,” said Hemaraju, a BMTC driver.

Other drivers cited difficulties navigating the tight space, with multiple routes now sharing single bays, leading to confusion for both drivers and passengers.

BMTC officials said efforts to restore the second lane have not yielded results. “We have held discussions with BIAL and submitted a letter outlining our concerns, but there has been no positive response,” a senior BMTC official told DH.

A BIAL spokesperson said the reduction at T1 was made after a dedicated BMTC bus stand was established at Terminal 2 (T2). “All buses that stop at T1 also stop at T2,” she said.

However, BMTC data shows that about 80% of Vayu Vajra users are T1 passengers, with T2 accounting for only 1,000–2,000 daily riders.

Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy, who visited the airport on Wednesday to review new cab pick-up rules and overstay charges, termed the reduction of bus bays “unacceptable” and said he had taken up the issue with BIAL.

The state government holds a 13% stake in the airport.