<div>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.<div><br /></div><div>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.</div><div><br /></div><div>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.</div><div><br /></div><div>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.</div><div><br /></div><div>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.</div><div><br /></div><div>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.</div><div><br /></div><div>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.</div></div>
<div>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.<div><br /></div><div>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.</div><div><br /></div><div>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.</div><div><br /></div><div>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.</div><div><br /></div><div>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.</div><div><br /></div><div>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.</div><div><br /></div><div>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.</div></div>
