December 3, 2008 update

BMTC is no longer booking via Redbus and Viaworld. For online booking please visit www.ticketvala.com.

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The Karnataka State Tourism Development Coporation (KSTDC) is now the third taxi operator at Bengaluru International Airport (BIA). According to Vinay Luthra, managing director, KSTDC, 100 new taxis, mainly Mahindra Logans and and Tata Indigos, have commenced operations.

At the same time, BMTC has done some route rationalisation and changes in bus stop locations to accommodate the Metro construction.



I am summarising the contact information for all the various taxi and bus services to BIA for your ready reference.

Bus Service
Without a doubt, still the most value efficient airport service are the BMTC, Vayu Vajra (air-conditioned Volvo) and Suvarna (non-AC) bus service. Both services are known for their 24x7 service, comfort, efficiency, and safety. At an average fare (to/from City Centre) of Rs.150 ($3.10), for the AC and Rs.80 ($1.70) for non AC, they are unbeatable.

BMTC has also tied up with Cel Cabs and SGL for Home Connect taxi service which offers a door pick-up/drop-off, to the nearest Vayu Vajra/Suvarna bus stop for an additional Rs.100 ($2).

For details on service, routes, and timings, visit the BMTC information website.

For the Home Connect taxi service call +91 (80) 6060-9090 (Cel) or +91 (80) 4299-4399 (SGL).

Individual Taxi Service
Next in the list are the three paid taxi service operators listed in alphabetical order. These are available ad-hoc from the airport terminal, but require an advance booking of 2 hours, from the city. All services are air-conditioned, GPS equipped, and charge Rs. 15/- per kilometer. A trip to/from the city centre will cost you about Rs.650 (US$14).

Easy Cab. Call them on +91 (80) 4343-4343 or book online at www.easycabs.com.
KSTDC. Call them on +91 (80) 4242-5555.
Meru Cab. Call them on +91 (80) 4422-4422 or book online at www.merucabs.com.

Shared Taxi Service
Next are the shared taxi service operators. Airlift and Zoom. These services require an advance booking of about 5~6 hours. Personally, I have had a decent experience with Airlift. I have no experience with Zoom.

A trip on Airlift will cost you Rs.340 ($7). A pick-up or drop-off at your doorstep will add Rs.100 ($2) to the tab.

Airlift. Call them on +91 (80) 4052-8888 or visit www.airliftonline.com
Zoom Airport Express. Call them on +91 (80) 6561-1999 or visit www.zoomairportexpress.com.

For those wanting to use autorickshaws or inter-city buses, there is a transit centre at the trumpet interchange. BMTC runs a shuttle bus from this transit centre to the airport terminal.

For an overview of parking at, and other transport options to/from, Bengaluru International Airport, please read my previous article. I hope you will find it helpful.

Please post your bus or taxi travel experience via a comment.

Updated information is available on the "BIA Bus & Taxi" link on the top menu bar.

I have updated all the BIAL transport information in October 2008. Please use the Vayu Vajra link on the main menu bar. If you find this article useful, before jumping off the blog, I will appreciate if you can leave a comment or your thanks. Also consider subscribing to the blog via RSS or choose to receive e-mail updates when new articles are posted.

I received some very encouraging news today and kudos to both BIAL and BMTC.

Bengaluru International Airport Ltd., and the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation sat down and have arrived at an action plan which will help increase the visibility and hopefully usage of the BMTC Vayu Vajra air-conditioned Volvo bus service to and from the airport, affectionately called "VV" by Bangaloreans.

BIAL will provide better visibility at the airport to VV all the way from the airport transfer buses till the terminal exit.

A display board will be implemented at the arrival baggage collection area which will provide real-time next bus departure timing from the airport.

BIAL will also canvass the airlines to put promotional placards or flyers in seat pockets and display informational videos on in-flight entertainment systems. I exhort the airlines to pitch in.

Despite significant loss, BMTC has been enthusiastically running the VV service, and these steps by the teams at BIAL and BMTC should help strengthen the service and offer a comfortable yet economical airport transport solution.

For more information on the VV service including route lists and timings visit the Vayu Vajra site.

I have updated all the BIAL transport information in October 2008. Please use the "Bus" link on the main menu bar. Redbus DOES NOT accept online bookings for Vayu Vajra anymore.

I have updated all the BIAL transport information in October 2008. Please use the Vayu Vajra link on the main menu bar.

BIAL bound? No problem
Author: Priyadarshini Nandy

Booking a cab to and from the airport just became easier with service providers going online. You don’t have to worry about them turning up on time as stiff competition keeps these vendors on their toes...

After much deliberations and protests the Bangalore International Airport is finally in function. The only issue that continues to trouble commuters is the lack of infrastructure that leads us to the airport.

Thanks to private vendors coming forth, travelling to the airport isn’t much of a mammoth task any more.

Of these, Zoom Airport Express, Airlift cabs and Meru cabs are three of the only services to have come forward with fully integrated websites, www.zoomairportexpress.com, www.airliftonline.com and merucabs.com for consumers to use to schedule pick up and drops.

How it works

While Airliftonline allows you to schedule pick up and drops to and from the airport, all financial transactions are made directly to the cab drivers. The service has pick up points for users to choose from.

Meru Cabs has a more user friendly interface, allowing you to book cabs online and on the phone via SMS or their customer care centre. Payment however is again made to the driver Zoomexpress however, intends to take that a step further by allowing online payment for travelling to the airport.

The website is not completely operational now as the the company is still in the process of partnering with banks with card payment options.

“Once the e-commerce is set up, people will be able to use the website not only to book pick up and drops, they can also make payments as we will have fixed charges to the BIAL from every location.

So, once the customer keys in the location he needs to be picked up from, he can pay for it accordingly online itself. Since we’re focussing on BIAL as our hub, it becomes easier to fix a fee,” says TPRS Prasad, CEO Zoom Airport Express.

Zoom Express schedules cars every 30 minutes and users can actually check the next convenient pick up time and book their cabs accordingly. “Users can actually book taxis, keeping one hour windows for us to accommodate them. This way, even last minute scheduling is possible,” adds Prasad.

In comparison iT ADDA did a quick comparison between the three websites to bring out their best features.

Meru cabs: The company is not new, already operating in Mumbai and New Delhi. Their website is really comprehensive and has whatever information you might be looking for on the website. Once you register on the website, it keeps track of your previous bookings with them as well. Once booked, the website sends you a confirmation number as an alert either via email or SMS.

Airlift cabs: It allows you to take a cab either from their list of pick up points or from your home. Extra charges are applicable for door-to-door pickups. The website also asks for your flight details and automatically gives you the best pick up times for you to choose from. Again, transactions are made with the taxi driver directly as the fare is calculated according to the meter.

Zoom Express: While the website currently carries information on the areas covered, they do intend to start e-commerce within a month’s time. Once that section is up and running, customers won’t have to argue with cab drivers on faulty metres and fares as everything would be possible online.

“Since this is a cab share concept, we’ve been able to keep the fares moderate without compromising customer comfort,” concludes Prasad.

Source : The Mid-Day

Addendum

Please read my BIAL transport article and BMTC Online Booking article which details other transport options to and from BIAL.

Please use the "BIA Bus & Taxi" link on the top menu bar for the latest information.